
</ C(yPuf^ (TCu c/c^^^^^-<^^ 



y.K. 88. L. &E. 



LECTURES 



©N THE 



GENERAL RELATIONS WHICH SCIENCE 



BEARS Te 



PEACTICAL A&EICTJLTTJIiE, 



DELIVERED BEFQRE THE 



NEW-YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



BY 

JAMES FV%?^OHNSTQN, F.R.SS. L.&E. 

!t 
PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY IN DURHAM UNIVERSITY ; 
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF ENGLAND ; AUTHOR OF LECTURES ON AGRICULTURAL 
CHEMISTRY, ETC., ETC., ETC. 



WITH NOTES AND ADDITIONS. 




NEW YORK: 
C. M. SAXTON, 123 FULTON STREET. 



M.D.COC.L. 



3<» 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1850, 
BY C. M. SAXTON, 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New Yorlc, 



AU 



Printed "by Edward O. Jenkins 
No. 114 Nassau Street. 



^m< 






State Agricultural Rooms, 
Albany, August 19, 1850. 



C. M. Saxton, Esa. : 

Dear Sir — I have learned with great pleasure that 
you propose to publish an edition of the Lectures of 
Professor Johnston, delivered before the New^-York 
State Agricultural Society and the Members of the 
Legislature of New- York the past winter, and which 
are published in the Transactions of the Society. 
They were received with great favor at the time 
they were delivered, and a perusal of them since 
their publication, has elicited warm approbation from 
many distinguished men in our country, interested in 
the advancement of agriculture. 

These Lectures show the intimate connection 
which exists between science and practical agricul- 
ture, and no one can peruse them without being fully 
sensible of the high calling of the farmer, and of the 
destiny which awaits him when science and education 
shall bring to his aid all that they can confer upon his 
profession. 

I am, very respectfully, yours, 

B. P. JOHNSON, 
Cor. Sec, JV. Y. S. Agricultural Soc^y. 



CONTENTS 



LECTURE I. 

Page. 
Relations of Physical Geography to Practical Agriculture, . 21 

LECTURE IL 
Relations of Geology and Mineralogy to Practical Agriculture, . 43 

LECTURE in. 

Relations of Botany, Vegetable Physiology, and Zoology to Practi- 
cal Agriculture, 64 

LECTURE IV. 
Relations of Meteorology to Practical Agriculture, . . . .81 

LECTURE V. 
Relations of Chemistry to the Soil, and its Practical Improvement, 102 

LECTURE VI. 

Relations of Chemical Physiology to the Plant, and the Modes of 
Promoting its Growth, , . . 12S 

LECTURE VII. 

Relations of Chemical Physiology to\thc Animal— its Food and 
Growth, 140 



VI CONTENTS. 

LECTURE Vni. 

Page. 
Relations of Chemistry to the Doctrine of Manures, . . . .161 

LECTURE IX. 

Means by which General Scientific Elnowledge may be Diffused and 
made Available for the Improvement of Practical Agriculture, and the 
General Elevation of the Agricultural Class, ..... 182 

APPENDIX. 

Note A, &c 207 



INTRODUCTION 



Professor Johnston, whose Lectures we now give 
to the agriculturists of the Union, is a native, we un- 
derstand, of Kilmarnock, in the east of Scotland, and 
was educated, it is believed, at the University of 
Glasgow. He pursued the study of chemistry with 
Berzelius, a distinguished Swedish chemist, and 
traveled very extensively, at an early period of his 
life, in the northern regions of Europe — in Sweden, 
Norway, Finland, and Russia — traversing the whole 
breadth of European Russia to the Wolga. Subse- 
quently, he made himself familiar with the agricul- 
ture of other portions of Europe by personal exami- 
nation. At the foundation of Durham University, in 
England, he was appointed one of its Teachers, and 
is now reader in chemistry and mineralogy in that 
distinguished institution. He was appointed Profes- 
sor of the Agricultural Chemical Association of the 
Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, in 
November, 1823, for five years, and during that 



iNTRODUCTION, 



period, his labors were productive of great good to 
the agricultural interests of Scotland. 

Professor Johnston published his Lectures on 
Agricultural Chemistry and Geology, in 1844, and an 
enlarged edition was published in 1847. In this coun- 
try, this work has passed through more than twenty 
editions, and it has also been republished on the con- 
tinent of Europe, in French and German, and has se- 
cured the confidence of the farmers of this country 
more than any work published, so far as we are in- 
formed. He has published " Contributions to Scien- 
tific Agriculture/' being a summary account of the 
proceedings and operations of" the Agricultural 
Chemistry Association of Scotland during his connec- 
tion with it. This is a very valuable work, and 
deserving of extensive circulation in this country. 

Professor Johnston prepared, foi- schools, a Cate- 
chism on Chemistry and Geology, which has been 
very extensively introduced into the primary schools 
in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and has passed 
through twenty-two editions there. It has been re- 
published in France, and it is believed, in several other 
countries of Europe. An edition has been published 
in this country, with an introduction by Professor 
John P. Norton, of Yale College, who pursued his 
studies a portion of his time with Professor Johnston, 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

while engaged in the Agricultural Chemical Associa- 
tion of Scotland. This is a work of great merit, and 
has been productive of the most favorable results 
wherever introduced. 

Professor Johnston was invited by the New- York 
State Agricultural Society, in 1848, to visit this 
country, and deliver a course of lectures before the 
Society, and such other Associations as he might be 
enabled to address. His connection with the Chemi- 
cal Association not being concluded, the invitation 
was then declined. In 1849, the invitation was re- 
newed, and he appeared before an American au- 
dience, for the first time, at the Annual Fair of the 
Society, at Syracuse, in September. His address uj^on 
that occasion was upon the agriculture of Europe, 
and was listened to with great interest by an im- 
mense auditory. In January, 1850, he delivered the 
course of lectures which are now presentei, in 
separate form, before the Society and the Menbers 
of the Legislature. He subsequently delive'ed a 
course of lectures before the Lowell Institute, Joston, 
also before the Smithsonian Institute, at WasHngton, 
and two lectures before the American Insttute of 
New York. He made an agricultural examination 
and survey of t he Province of ew Brunswick, 
which has been published by the Provincial Legisla- 



10 INTRODUCTION, 

ture, and which is very highly commended by gen- 
tlemen of that province. 

Professor Johnston is in the meridian of life and of 
usefulness ; and should his life be spared, as we trust 
it may be for many years, from his acknowledged in- 
dustry, his habits of thorough investigation, his ardent 
desire to contribute to the advancement of science, 
his labors will yet, we doubt not, result in great good 
to the cause to which he devotes the entire energies 
of his vigorous intellect. 

The agriculturists of America are under great obli- 
gations to him for the course of lectures which we here 
present to them, and we feel assured that they will prove 
of unspeakable advantage to the entire agricultural 
interest of our country. 

Irofessor Johnston is a Fellow of the Royal So- 
ciety of England, Honorary Member of the Royal 
Agricultural Society of England, Honorary Member 
of th>. New-York State Agricultural Society, and of 
sevenl of the European scientific agricultural asso- 
ciations. 

We nsert the following from the Transactions of 
the Nev-York State Agricultural Society, for 1849, 
which Mill give the circumstances under which these 
Lectures were delivered, and the manner they were 
received ; — 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

Professor Johnston, on the invitation of the New- 
York State Agricultural Society, visited this country, 
and made his first appearance before an American 
audience, at the Annual Fair at Syracuse. The 
impressions w^hich were made by his admirable 
address delivered on that occasion, were in the high- 
est degree gratifying, and increased the desire to 
listen to the course of lectures which he had engaged 
to deliver the ensuing winter. The lectures were 
delivered before the Society, Members of the Legis- 
lature, professors, and students of the Normal School 
and Medical College, and a large number of gen- 
tlemen of the city and vicinity, in the Assembly 
Chamber, which was kindly tendered for that purpose. 
To say that the lectures equalled not only, but even 
exceeded the expectations which had been formed of 
them, would but express the united opinion of all 
who heard them. Their practical adaptation to the 
business of the farmer, secured the attention and 
confidence of every practical farmer who listened to 
them ; and we shall be greatly mistaken, if the peru- 
sal of them does not secure equal confidence on the 
part of the farmers of our country. 

Professor Johnston having concluded his lectures, 
Mr. Prentice, the President of the Society, took the 
chair, and Mr. B. P. Johnson was appointed Secre- 
tary. 



\2 INTRODUCTION. 

/ Mr. Beekman, of Columbia, remarked that Profes- 
'sor Johnston having now finished his course of lec- 
tures, it was due to him, as well as to the Society, 
that they should express an opinion as to the merits of 
these lectures, and to test the sense of the Society, 
he begged leave to offer a resolution, which he read, 
as follows : — 

Resolved, That we have listened with great interest, 
as well as profit, to the very instructive course of 
lectures delivered by Professor Johnston, on " The 
General Relations of Science to Practical Agricul- 
ture ;" and that we take great pleasure in expressing 
our united approbation of the great practical value of 
his lectures to the practical farmer, as well as to the 
man of science. 

Dr. Beekman said he had another resolution in 
relation to the volume which Professor Johnston had 
exhibited to them, being the second edition of his Lec- 
tures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology, pre- 
senting the results of scientific research adapted to 
practical agriculture, which he begged leave to offer 
for the consideration of the Society. It was as 
follows : — 

Resolved, That, as the principles advanced in the 
lectures which have been delivered, are more fully 
developed in the second edition of Professor Johnston's 
Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology, we 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

would respectfully request him, if consistent with his 
engagements, to prepare an edition for republication 
in this country. 

Mr. Baldwin, of Syracuse, said he rose to second 
the resolutions offered by the gentleman from Colum- 
bia ; and in doing so, begged leave to submit a few 
remarks. 

When we contemplate, said Mr. B», the elevated 
position which the learned Professor occupies in his 
own country, standing as he does at the head of a 
profession which he so much adorns ; when we con- 
sider how extended, broad, and profitable to himself 
as well as to others is the field of his labors — and 
how great have been the sacrifices, pecuniary and 
otherwise, which he has made in accepting the invi- 
tation of our Society, to deliver its annual address 
last autumn, and in remaining here, and in this 
vicinity since that time, to deliver the course of lec- 
tures which have just now closed, and to which 
we have just now listened with so much profit and 
delight — and especially, when we reflect upon the 
character of those lectures — the beautiful manner in 
which they have opened to us the great volume of 
nature, giving us a glance at its hidden mysteries and 
treasures — showing us the properties of the earth 
and the soils, the connection and relation between 
the earth and the vegetable kingdom, and the con- 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

Dection and relation between that kingdom and the 
animal creation, with the means of improving each ; 
and, by the knowledge thus imparted, provoked an 
appetite for more, and leading us by that knowledge, 
from " Nature up to Nature's God ," and thereby making 
us not only better agriculturists, but better men, better 
citizens, and better Christians ; in view, sir, of these 
multiplied and high considerations, I am sure that I 
but express a common sentiment, when I say that we 
sincerely thank our friend the learned Professor. 

And, Mr. President, said Mr. B., if these lectures 
shall have, as we trust in heaven they may, the effect 
of awakening our legislators to a proper sense of 
their duty in regard to this great interest, and which 
shall lead them fairly and fully to respond to the 
recommendations of his Excellency the Governor in 
his late message — to respond to the recommendations 
of the Agricultural Commissioners in their late and 
able report on the subject of an Agricultural College 
and Experimental Farm — to respond fairly and fully 
to the united voice of their constituency, how deep 
and enduring will be that obligation and our grati- 
tude. 

And sir, said Mr. B., why should they not respond ? 
Have not all the other great interests of the State 
found protection at their hands, while this, the parent 
of them all, has been lost sight of and neglected ? Is 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

there any other interest in the State greater than this ? 
And why should this alone be left without protection ? 

By the lecture which has just now closed, you have 
learned that the farming interests in this State are in 
process of deterioration ; that the average of all crops 
is continually diminishing ; the tables of the products, 
exhibited by the learned Professor, show this ; and he 
also shows us the means by which these products may 
be increased — by which we may be brought back to 
the products of a virgin soil. 

The learned Professor in his lecture this evening 
has also referred us to the products of the fertile soils 
of our new states, the prairies of the boundless west, 
and which are brought into direct competition with 
the products of the soil of this State, and by which it 
appears most evident that we cannot much longer 
sustain ourselves against this powerful competition? 
What then, sir, is to be done ? Why, sir, there is but 
one thing that can be done, and that is, to improve 
our system of agriculture, and by that system to 
increase the quantity as well the quality of our agri- 
cultural products. The lights of experience and 
of science will enable'us to do this. But a knowledge 
of that experience and science must be acquired, and 
how can it be so well acquired as at an institution 
established for that purpose ? 

It is true, that reference has been made by the 
2* 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

liearned Professor to the agricultural schools of Ba- 
varia, Prussia, and other countries in Europe ; but 
it occurred to him, at the time, as he doubted not it 
did to them, that, as between the people of those 
countries and our own, there was no analogy what- 
ever. Their governments were different. They 
Were oppressed subjects ; were vassals and serfs, 
while we were freemen ; they were ignorant — we 
enlightened. There, the masses are uneducated, while 
here, education, like the light and dews of heaven 
under our common-school system, descends as it 
should descend, alike and equally upon all. Our 
farmers, as a class, are intelligent and educated men. 
But few of the farmers of those countries own the 
soil they cultivate, while ours, not only own it in fee, 
but are emphatically the lords of the soil. Even in 
England, the learned Professor has told us, that the 
farmers, as a class, were not reading men. How dif- 
ferent the case with us. Ours are reading men. 
Where is the farmer in this State that does not, at 
least, take his newspaper ? Look, sir, at the one hun- 
dred thousand subscribers and readers of various 
agricultural periodicals of the State, and it will be 
seen that there is not the slightest analogy between 
the Old World and the New in this respect. 

Sir, conlinued Mr. B., the farmers of New York 
are not only ready for, but they demand this measure 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

— the ground is already prepared — the loaf is already- 
leavened ; for eighteen years, at least, it has been at 
work, and what are its fruits? Look, sir, to the 
general interest awakened on this subject. Look to 
the immense gatherings at your annual fairs. Look 
to the improved condition of stock and agricultural 
implements ; and above all, sir, to the increased cir- 
culation of agricultural papers and books, and you 
will agree with me, sir, that the time has come, that 
the harvest is ripe ; and the sickles are ready and 
only wait the bidding of the law-making power, to 
commence the work. Yes, sir, the time has come 
when the farmers of New York, in view of the almost 
overwhelming competition of the west, are called 
upon to look at home — to protect their own interests. 
And how, sir, I repeat, is that interest to be protected, 
except by the introduction into it of the lights of ex- 
perience and science ? We have this evening been 
taught by the learned Professor, how one acre can 
be multiplied into four acres ; or, in other words, 
how one acre can, by an improved system of agri- 
culture, be made to yield as much as, under our 
present system, four produce. 

Now, sir, suppose a proposition were to be sub- 
mitted to this Legislature, by which the agricultural 
wealth of the State, for an outlay of a few thousand 
dollars could be doubled, does any one doubt that 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

such a proposition would at once be seized upon and 
adopted by that honorable body ? Surely not ; and 
yet for a comparatively small outlay, by adopting the 
system proposed, that wealth may not only be doubled, 
but quadrupled. And will not the Legislature adopt 
it? Will they not give us an institution where the 
farmer's boy may be educated ? Where he may 
receive in reference to his calling, such an education 
as all other classes in this community receive in re- 
ference to theirs ? In a word, will it longer allow 
this numerous and highly respectable class of our 
fellow citizens to be neglected ? Will the Legisla- 
ture longer allow this great interest, which lies at 
the foundation of all others, to suffer for the want of 
that aid which it, and the united voice of an impatient 
constituency, so loudly and imperiously demand ? I 
trust not, sir. I trust, said Mr. B., that the Legisla- 
ture will not only give us an Agricultural College and 
Experimental Farm, but that it will endow it with 
such ample funds, as to place it upon a strong and 
permanent basis, a basis which shall alike perpetu- 
ate throughout all time to come, the wisdom of this 
Legislature and the liberality of the State. 

Mr. B. begged pardon fyr trespassing so long upon 
the attention of the house, but he could not have said 
less, either in reference to his friend, the learned Pro- 
fessor^ or the great and interesting subject now be- 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

fore the Legislature, without doing violence to his 
own feelings ; and he therefore hoped that he might 
be excused for the time which he had occupied. 

Mr. B. said he must also crave the indulgence of 
the house for a moment, while he considered the 
second resolution offered by the gentleman from Co- 
lumbia. That resolution, sir, proposes to reprint, in 
this country, a valuable work by Professor Johnston 
on the subject of agriculture and its kindred sciences. 
I have not, said Mr. B., read the whole of that work, 
but from the examination which I have given it, I am 
satisfied that it will make a valuable addition to our 
agricultural libraries ; indeed, such is its character 
that I am of the opinion that any man who will make 
himself familiar with its contents, will become a sci- 
entific farmer. But the English edition was too 
expensive for general circulation ; he hoped, there- 
fore, that a cheap American edition might be issued, 
and that it might be found, as he had no doubt it 
would be, on the shelf of every intelligent farmer of 
the State. And, in conclusion, he desired^ that both 
resolutions might be adopted. 

At the close of Mr. B.'s remarks, the resolutions 
were unanimously adopted, and then the Society 
adjourned. 

B. P. JOHNSON, Secretary. 



LECTURE I. 



relations of physical geography to practical 
agriculture. 

Gentlemen of the New- York State Agricul- 
tural Society: I take this, the first public opportunity 
which has presented itself to me, to thank you for the 
very kind attentions received at your hands at Syra- 
cuse, and I take the liberty of craving from you, for the 
series of lectures I am nov^^ about to commence, the 
same indulgent forbearance which you showed to- 
wards the address delivered to you on that occasion. 
The general object of these lectures is to give you a 
brief sketch of the relations, the general relations of 
natural science to rural economy. 

It will be impossible for me to fill up a single one of 
the numerous outlines I shall have occasion to present 
to you. My purpose will be to impress on you the 
great breadth of existing knowledge which bears on 
the farmer's art. And first, to show the character, 
the true practical position which his own art occupies 
among human pursuits. And in the second place, to 
satisfy men engaged in other occupations, that what- 
ever farmers, as a class, may be, in any country, at 



22 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

any time, they ought not, either for their own indivi- 
dual interest, or for the interest of the country to which 
they belong, to be less intelligent, or less instructed in 
general and special knowledge, than other classes of 
the community are. 

Such a course of lectures is likely to be useful at 
the present time ; in the first place, because of the po- 
sition, which, according to my judgment, practical ag- 
riculture now occupies in this State ; and secondly, be- 
cause of the measures which the State Legislature, 
during the present session, are likely to take — I hope 
will take in order to improve that condition. 

I shall also make it one of my objects to show you 
that natural science has not only a direct money bear- 
ing on the pockets and property of the farmer, but 
opens up also large views of the natural capabilities 
of countries, and of the relations of these capabilities 
to the comfort and welfare of man ; which are not 
only interesting in themselves, but such as belong to 
statesmen to become familiar with. 

I have on many occasions, in various countries, and 
in different ways, endeavored to illustrate the very 
numerous relations which natural science bears to the 
art of agriculture. It is impossible for any man tho- 
roughly to comprehend all branches of natural science, 
so as to be able completely to exhibit these relations 
in all their details. I do not profess such knowledge, 
and if I did, time would fail me in the endeavor to lay 
such details before you. I shall therefore select only 
a few points for illustration — a few points from the 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 23 

broad branches of natural knowledge enumerated in 
the syllabus already placed in your hands. 

The first of these branches, the one I am to present 
before you this evening, comprehends the Relations of 
Physical Geography to Practical Jigriculture. 

Physical geography is intimately connected with 
physical astronomy, and if time permited me to dis- 
cuss the relations of all science to this important art, 
I might enter on this branch before discussing the 
subject of physical geography. But the relations 
which the great phenomena of astronomy bear to the 
art of agriculture, in so far as the seasons — as the al- 
ternations of day and night in different seasons of the 
year, and the modifications of those seasons which 
similar latitudes are subject to, at various periods of 
the year — all these are so familiar to you, that 1 need 
only draw your attention to them to convince you 
that a large branch of knowledge exists here, which 
it is of great importance that the department of agri- 
culture should be familiar with. 

The most important points in the relations of physi- 
cal geography to agriculture, to which I beg to draw 
your attention, are the following : — 

First, That latitude very much influences the adap- 
tation of the place to the growth of plants. You know, 
that if you pass from the southern extreme of this 
large country northward, you pass over diflferent cli- 
mates, so to speak; you pass over different parts of 
the earth, the latitudes of which differ. As, for in- 
stance, in passing from the extreme south towards 
Maine, you know that you pass from the sugar and 



2l 



RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 



cotton-producing country, into the wheat-producing, 
and from this to the barley and oat-producing coun- 
try — which description properly represents Maine — 
and that whatever is true along the seaboard, is true 
of all the interior portion, and of all America, from the 
extreme north to the extreme south ; that latitude 
very materially modifies the kind of culture which it 
is necessary to adopt to make crops grow best. 

On this I need not dwell ; but to show you how 
very small differences in latitude most materially 
affect the growth of plants and crops, take one single 
example. The growth of sugar presents this example. 
According to the results of experience, the sugar 
cane will thrive where the mean temperature is from 
64° to 67° of Fahrenheit. By mean temperature, I 
mean that which is obtained by averaging the tem- 
perature of every day in the year. If this tempera- 
ture is from 64° to 67° in any given place, there is the 
place where the sugar cane will thrive. But though 
the sugar cane may thrive in such a latitude, and may 
be cultivated with success where the temperature 
ranges from 67° to 68°, still, it grows most luxuriant- 
ly, and yields the largest return at the least cost, 
where the mean annual temperature ranges from 70° 
to 77°. All other things being equal, the countries 
where the highest temperature prevails, are those 
where the sugar cane can be grown at the least cost, 
and drive all others out of the market.* 

The southern part of Spain, near the Straits of 

* See Note A— Appendix. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 25 

Gibraltar, presents the first degree of temperature 
spoken of. Here the sugar cane will thrive ; and 
here was grown the first sugar that came into market. 
The northern part of Africa has a temperature of the 
second grade — 67° to 68°, or nearly 70°. There, 
and in the Azores and the Canary Islands, the sugar 
cane was cultivated profitably ; and there it was cul- 
tivated after Southern Spain ceased the culture. But 
in Jamaica, and other neighboring islands and coun- 
tries, with which all are familiar, and where the tem- 
perature is about 77"^, there the sugar cane grows 
most luxuriantly. But Cuba and the north-eastern 
part of Brazil possess the most favorable tempera- 
ture for the growth of the sugar cane. Thus the 
single circumstance of variety of temperature, de- 
pending on latitude, designates the places where the 
culture of the sugar cane can be carried on most suc- 
cessfully. All other things being the same, the cost 
of labor, the energy and enterprise of the people, the 
institutions of the country — all these conditions being 
equal — these two countries ought to drive every other 
country out of the sugar market of the world. But 
these conditions do not exist ; and in other countries, 
the energy of their population and the eflfect of their 
institutions come into play, and they may compete 
successfully even with those most favored by climate 
for the culture of sugar. 

So much for this branch. But the distribution of 
land and water is a most important element in the 
determination of what crops will grow best in coun- 
tries having the same latitude. You know that all 



26 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

along the seaboard of any one of these continents, the 
chmate differs from that of the interior ; and that the 
climate of the interior of the country differs from that 
of the sea coast, whether of the Atlantic or Pacific 
side.* So in the interior, bordering on these lakes at 
the north and west, you know that these bodies of 
water very much modify the climate. All who live 
near these lakes know very well that the climate is 
very much modified by them, that is to say, that the 
capability of the land to produce certain crops, is 
modified by the position it occupies on the borders of 
these great inland seas. You know further, that the 
rivers of a country have a great influence, not only 
on the agricultural profit, but on the agricultural pro- 
ducts of a country. Suppose the interior of this 
country were not intersected by these great rivers. 
Large rivers are the great highways to market ; and 
you know how little would be the profit to the farmer, 
wiio is distant from market, but for these rivers, though 
he might raise any quantity of grain. 

All this I pass over. But a most important point 
in physical geography, is the elevation of a place 
above the level of the sea. In various parts of the 
world, there are great ridges of mountains, all of which 
you are familiar with, as well as with the high table 
lands, which are to be found in many localities in 
Europe and America. All these mountain elevations, 
table lands, and plains are characterised from certain 
circumstances, by peculiar agricultural products, en- 

* See Note B — Appendix. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 27 

tirely depending on physical conformation. These 
things are obvious and I pass over them. 

But the effect of elevations is felt at a great dis- 
tance. Tvi^o illustrations will suffice ; on the first, I 
do not dv^ell, I will merely name it. (Professor J. 
here pointed to the map of Europe — to the North 
Sea — to Holland — to the Rhine, tracing its rise in the 
mountains of Switzerland, until it empties into the 
North Sea, forming at its mouth, islands, or Deltas.) 
All of you, he continued, recollect the fact, I shall 
hereafter advert to, of the peculiar unhealthiness of 
the Deltas there. Now, the character of these islands, 
and of the low country at the mouth of the Rhine, is 
determined very much by the nature of the elevations 
from which the water comes. What has been pub- 
lished of the Natural History of your own State, tells 
you how much the region through which the water 
flows, determines its quahty, what it holds in solution, 
and how, when it reaches the sea, this matter is de- 
posited in the form of Deltas and islands that occupy 
the mouths of rivers. This is an illustration of the 
efiect of elevations to modify the character of a coun- 
try, through which the rivers coming from them flow. 

But a more striking illustration is presented in 
another part of the world. The river Nile rises in 
Abyssinia, flows through Nubia and Egypt into the 
Mediterranean. It is remarkable that the countries 
through which the Nile flows are bounded by deserts. 
These countries would have formed part of these 
great deserts, but for the waters of the Nile. This 
river rises in the Mountains of the Moon, which are 



28 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

covered with snow at their summits. At certain sea- 
sons of the year, this snow meJts, and swells the Nile 
to such a degree as to overflow and cover this vast 
plain, and fertilises what would otherwise be barren, 
thus giving to the soil its capability to grow crops, 
and sustain a population, which, in remote times, was 
very great. It is interesting to remark how, on ap- 
parently small things which have their connection 
with distinct branches of human knowledge, the com- 
fort and even existence of whole nations is found 
clearly and distinctly to depend. 

Among the most interesting phenomena of physical 
geography are the depressions in certain parts of 
the world, compared with the level of the sea. I 
have spoken of elevations ; but there are parts of 
the world, below the level of the sea, which, notwith- 
standing, grow crops and nourish a large population. 

I draw your attention to the Caspian Sea. This 
is a large body of water, from the edges of which 
start plains in every direction. This body of water 
is considerably below the level of the Black Sea and 
the Atlantic. If any circumstance should happen, by 
which a connection were formed between the Black 
Sea and the Caspian, the waters of the latter would 
be raised from sixty to eighty feet ; a very great area 
of country would be submerged, and the borders of 
that sea greatly enlarged. 

But the most remarkable case of this kind is pre- 
sented in that part of the world with which we are 
all famiUar by name, and that is Palestine. In the 
interior of this country is the Dead Sea, into which the 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE 29 

river Jordan flows through certain lakes, and among 
them, Lake Tiberias. The Dead Sea is twelve hun- 
dred or thirteen hundred feet below the level of the 
Mediterranean. Lake Tiberias is some five hundred 
feet below the level of that sea. If any circumstance 
should open a tract or canal from the Mediterranean 
into the valley of the Dead Sea, its waters would 
rise twelve hundred feet and drown a large portion 
of the people of that country, with which our oldest 
and most sacred associations are connected. 

I shall have occasion in a subsequent lecture, to 
draw your attention to the circumstance of there 
being certain parts of the world in which no rain 
ever falls, and certain other parts where the quantity 
of rain is very small. It is because the rain that falls 
in this country, bordering on the Dead Sea and the 
Caspian, is no greater than the evaporation, that it 
remains as now, and has not been submerged long 
ago. With such a climate as you have, and as we 
have in Great Britain, where the rain that falls is 
greater than the evaporation, the population of those 
regions would have been annihilated by the rising 
waters. 

But there are large tracts of country, which are 
not either above nor below the level of the sea; but 
which are so flat, that the water that falls, remains 
and stagnates. In this country, large tracts are ren- 
dered useless for agricultural purposes, by the ex- 
treme evenness of the surface. In New Brunswick, 
there are large tracts of this character, and which 
seem to defy all agricultural improvement. 



30 RELATIONS OF PHYSrCAL GEOGRAPHY. 

Again, there is a tract of country on the Bay of 
Chaleurs, which, though extremely flat, is naturally 
fitted to become as rich as some of the richest lands 
of Scotland, even those celebrated for their richness. 
It is so flat, that water cannot escape. It is not a 
bog, nor a swamp, but so w^et that it cannot be culti- 
vated profitably by the settlers. 

Besides these phenomena, there are certain natural 
obstructions, which present themselves, in the course 
of rivers, and give rise to new conditions of the coun- 
try bordering on them, which are more or less un- 
favorable to the growth of crops, but which farmers 
make profitable. In New Brunswick, there are many 
such — which may be called bogs or swamps. In 
your own State, in Cayuga county, I believe, chiefly 
on the outlet of Cayuga Lake, lies the Montezuma 
Marsh. I have not visited it myself, but am advised, 
that the marsh is formed by obstructions, which can 
only be removed by operations on a large scale, by 
which a partial drainage is effected, and thus the 
water enabled to flow from the lake, and thus a large 
extent of land, capable of being made of the most 
productive character, may be redeemed from barren- 
ness. In other parts of your country, in Georgia, 
for instance, there are large swamps, and in Florida, 
there are what are called " everglades,'' in regard to 
which, I am happy to hear, that steps are talked of 
for draining and reclaiming. 

Another remarkable phenomenon, which has at- 
tracted the attention of physical geographers, is the 
large Deltas formed at the mouths of great rivers, 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE, 31 

everywhere. Those at the mouth of the'Mississippi 
are familiar to you all. You know that these Deltas, 
found at the mouths of all great rivers, being formed 
of rich alluvial soils, are generally of an unhealthy 
character ; unhealthy, because of their richness, and 
because of that unhealthy character in other situa- 
tions, and under other circumstances, would not be 
cultivated at all. If time permitted, I might here 
show you, how much the agricultural prosperity of a 
country, not its capability, (for these Deltas are capa- 
ble of the highest degree of production,) but how 
much agricultural products depend on the healthy 
character of the climate. Farmers thrive in coun- 
tries far more cold and severe, than others ; because 
these cold and severe countries are mostly heal- 
thy. I am sure the hardy farmers, who cultivate the 
soil of New Brunswick, though they suffer from 
the extreme cold of the country, and complain of it, 
3^et certainly enjoy far more happiness, so far as hap- 
piness depends on bodily health, than the inhabitants 
of other richer countries, such as Georgia, the Caro- 
linas, Florida, and other Southern States, which are 
far richer, and produce more, with far less labor. 
Hence, in all cases, in the temperate and colder cli- 
mates, rural economy, in general, attains a much 
higher state of improvement, than in the richer and 
warmer, but less healthy countries. 

There is one circumstance, in connection with these 

Deltas, to which I will draw your attention, and only 

one ; that is to say, of the lands at the mouths of rivers, 

and the characters of the banks of the rivers them- 

9 



-32 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

selves, when they are of great width, and when deposits 
have formed of alluvial soil, as is the case at the 
mouth of the Mississippi, and in other parts of the 
world. It is the character of these deposits to 
assume a his/her elevation at the exterior than the 
interior part; and from this peculiar conformation — 
the depression of the interior parts — marshes and 
bogs, and bogs of peat marsh, in some localities, are 
formed in these depressed portions. 

I promised to draw your attention to the Rhine. 
The Rhine, when it reaches the north of Europe, 
becomes loaded with mud to a great degree — not so 
great as the Mississippi ; but there is this difference : 
The Rhine empties itself into a bay, where the waters 
from the north and southwest meet, and a drawing 
back takes place, and a precipitation of the earths in 
suspension goes on at the mouth of the river itself. 
Now, there was a time when these deposits took 
place without being heeded ; when there were 
formed islands of small extent, the edges of which 
being raised above the rest, by the action of the 
waves and the current, formed strips af land on 
which trees and plants grew — the external being 
higher than the internal parts — thus forming a large 
extent of boggy, muddy, and sandy country, stretch- 
ing from the mouth of the Rhine, north, to the Zuy- 
der Zee ; that is to say, forming the country now 
called Holand. By degrees, the fishermen settled 
on these little knolls, and their fertility being soon 
known, the farmers were attracted thither, and by 
indomitable perseverance and enterprise, these and 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 33 

the adjacent lands were reclaimed by artificial works, 
and form what is now the limited provinces of Hol- 
land. I will not dwell on the history of this people ; 
but you must see that the character of a people in 
such a country, formed originally by natural opera- 
tions, and reduced to a habitable region by human 
perseverance and skill — you must see in the nature 
of the country, which must have moulded the charac- 
ter of the inhabitants, and formed the national cha- 
racter of its people — something of their remarkable 
characteristics. If time permitted, I might enter into 
details illustrative of these — the result of personal 
observation in that country — going over its dykes, 
sailing on its canals, and witnessing everywhere the 
triumphs of human power and art over extraordinary 
difficulties, in a country, which, from the beginning of 
the Christian era, has been subjected to continually 
repeated inundation. Records go back through a 
period of thirteen centuries, during which there have 
been great inundations, which have broken up dykes, 
let out canals, overflowed cities, and drowned large 
numbers of people, once in seven years. For thirteen 
centuries, the Hollanders have been subjected, on an 
average once in seven years, to these inundations. I 
have thought, in going through that country, how 
many struggles that people have undergone, what 
perseverance they have displayed, what victories 
they have achieved over stubborn and apparently 
indomitable nature, what effect the consciousness of 
having done all this must have upon individual as 
well as national character, and what a great triumph 



34 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

it is in itself thus to have fixed themselves firmly on 
the soil. 

Gentlemen, it is useful to us — it carries with it a 
great moral lesson — to survey such a country as this ; 
teaching us that those who possess great natural 
advantages, whether as nations or as individuals, are 
not always either most blessed or happy ; that diffi- 
culties bring out the energies of individuals and na- 
tions, and that those nations and those individuals are 
not only happiest, but in general most successful, who 
have these difficulties to encounter. 

I leave this department of the subject. With the 
subject of rivers are connected the tides. The flow- 
ing of rivers is naturally connected with the flowing 
of tides, and the flowing of tides is a physical pheno- 
menon intimately connected with agricultural pros- 
perity in many parts of the world. I need not go far 
for an illustration — if I take you to the Bay of Fundy, 
which separates Nova Scotia from New Brunswick 
— the waters of which rush up with great velocity, 
and rise to a great height. Fifty or sixty feet is no 
unusual tide at the head waters of the bay. As they 
rush up, they sweep the banks on either side, which, 
on the Nova-Scotia side, are composed of a species 
of rock and clay, and arrive at the extremity of the 
bay, loaded with mud to a very great degree. They 
are the muddiest waters I ever saw. This mud is de- 
posited at the head waters of the bay, in great quan- 
tities, and forms the richest land existing in that part 
of the world. The richest land in Nova Scotia and 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 35 

New Brunswick is formed of such deposits as these 
— mainly from the waters of the Bay of Fundy, 
which not only bring with them the ingredients that 
fertilise the soil they form themselves, but bring to 
the industrious farmer the means to fertilise the 
upland to a great extent. I do not mean to say that 
there, nor in other parts of America that I have visited, 
the advantages afforded of enriching the uplands are 
very great, and capable of producing enough to 
nourish a large population. 

But I pass over this, also, and I shall take you next 
to the sea itself, and to the currents that traverse the 
sea. And here I am able to present one or two in 
teresting illustrations. 

(Professor J. pointed out on his map certain shades, 
indicating the currents of water.) Here, said he, 
(pointing to the coast of Africa near the equator,) the 
tendency of the water is to flow westward. And here 
he began with it, tracing the course of what is called 
the great equatorial current. This current, which is 
here three or four degrees colder than the water of 
the main sea, breaks against the northeast corner of 
South America, and then separates, one portion 
running to the north and the other to the south. But 
here, having expended its force, it seems to lose itself, 
but proceeds on till it is taken up to the river Amazon, 
and flows through the Caribbean Sea. Here the 
water, which before was colder than the surrounding 
sea, gets warmer, and flows along through the Gulf 
of Mexico, as if trying to get further west. But it is 
edged off by the main land, until, at last, it is obliged 



36 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

to take its way back along the coast of Florida and 
thence along your seaboard, until it comes opposite 
the southern part of Newfoundland. When the cur- 
rent comes out of the gulf, it is warm, nine or ten de- 
grees warmer than before. Thence its natural direc- 
tion is across the North Atlantic, until it strikes the 
coast of Spain. But it does not all go there ; a part 
of it breaks off and goes north, passing the southeastern 
coast of Iceland, and then the warm water loses itself 
in the Arctic Sea. 

Now, what is the effect of this on the agricultural 
character of the country which this stream visits ? 
Being nine or ten degrees warmer than the surround- 
ing sea, it retains this warmth to such a degree, at the 
north, that the climate of those northern regions, even 
as far up as Spitzbergen, is materially mollified by the 
water thus flowing up from the southern country. 

The indications of this are very distinct in the 
north of Europe. (Professor J. here pointed to a map 
of the globe, across which was affixed a piece of red 
tape, which followed one of the northern parallels ol 
latitude, or nearly so, saying that it was intended to 
represent more clearly the nature of this modifying 
influence upon climate and upon agricultural products.) 
That line, said he, covered by the tape, indicates the 
line where the ground is frozen all the year round ; 
that is the course of the line of perpetual frost. What 
is the reason of this bend towards the north? (point- 
ing to the neighborhood of Iceland and Spitzbergen, 
where the tape was carried several degrees north) 
the reason is, the warm water of this equatorial cur- 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 37 

rent, being heated in its passage through the Gulf of 
Mexico, carries this warmth so far north, that it actu- 
ally changes the course of this line of perpetual frost, 
preventing a greater part of Lapland and Norway, 
and a greater part of Sweden, also, from being con- 
stantly frozen ; but for this, these parts of those 
countries could not bear crops ; and in Norway, a 
greater part of Sweden, all of Finland, and a large 
portion of Northern Russia, it would be perpetually 
frozen, but for the fact that this stream mollifies the 
severity of the temperature, and thus enabling this 
northern country to grow barley, oats, and other 
things necessary for the sustenance of man. This 
physical, geographical phenomenon connects itself 
with considerations of the highest moment. It shows 
you, on how slight a circumstance, which might well 
escape unobserved, depends the fate of a country, and 
the lives of millions of men. 

Suppose for a moment, that this current in its flow 
towards the west, in search of an outlet in that direc- 
tion, could make its way through the Isthmus of 
Panama, and could go right across the Pacific Ocean, 
instead of being compelled to take its course north, 
what would happen ? This water would flow straight 
on, throuD^h the Gulf of Mexico, into the Pacific. The 
Gulf Stream would cease to exist at the north, and the 
climate in the regions spoken of, would cease to be 
modified by it, and we should have an icy desert, 
without the capacity to sustain human life, and an un- 
inhabitable region in Norway, Sweden, and Northern 
Russia.* 

• See Note C — Appendix 



38 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

To give you an idea of the quantity of heat diffused 
by the Gulf Stream, in these northern regions, I may 
mention that the quantity of heat acquired by this 
stream, and thus thrown northwardly in its course, is 
enough to warm the whole column of air, that rests 
on Great Britain and France, from winter temperature 
to summer heat ; hence, there is every reason to be- 
lieve that the molHfying influences I speak of, are pro- 
duced in that way. 

Another current, called the Arctic current, originates 
in the masses of ice which surround the North Pole. 
It runs along the eastern shores of Greenland to Cape 
Farewell, doubles the cape, and flows up the western 
coast of Greenland, to about 66'^ north latitude, 
where it turns to the southward, along the coast of 
Labrador, forming the Hudson-Bay current. This, 
being cold water, very materially aflfects the climate 
of Newfoundland. In 1831, the harbor of Newfound- 
land was closed with ice on the 1st of June, though it 
is two degrees further south than Liverpool. Arriving 
at the north end of Newfoundland, it sends a branch 
through the Straits of Bellisle, to the St. Lawrence, 
while the main part joins the Gulf Stream, between 
43*^ and 47°, west longitude ; here it divides — one 
portion flowing south to the Caribbean Sea, which it 
enters as an under current, the other flowing south- 
west forms the United-States counter current. Here 
it serves a useful purpose. It replaces the warm 
water sent through the Gulf Stream, and mitigates the 
climate of the countries of Central America and the 
Gulf of Mexico, which, but for this beautiful and benign 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 39 

system of aqueous circulation, would have the hottest, 
if not the most pestilential climate in the world. I 
believe that the climate of the States of North and 
South Carolina and Georgia, which is salubrious, even 
in the summer months, is in a great measure the result 
of the mollifying influence of this cold current, and 
thus rendered bearable in those parts of the world, 
which would be otherwise unhealthy if not unendura- 
ble. 

Another illustration : I said I would show you why 
this equatorial current was colder when it crossed 
the Atlantic. I have already given you one reason, 
that if it flows from a certain point on the African 
coast, water must flow to that point, either from the 
north or the south. Let me show you how it comes 
from the south. Looking at the map of South 
America, you will observe the Andes, which traverse 
the whole of South America, are bordered by a fringe 
of land on the west forming Peru and Chili ; these 
are low countries — bordered by the sea on the one 
side, and by the mountains on the other. In these 
countries, no rain ever falls;* from their position, it 
should be a country in which nothing was to be seen 
but barren and sandy wastes, where no people could 
live, and because of the absence of its capacity to 
produce crops. Now, there flows from the south- 
west a large body of water, which drifts up towards 
the coast of Peru and Chili. It is called the great 
southern drift. As it approaches the coast of Pata- 

^ See Note D — Appendix. 



40 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

gonia, it widens and separates into two branches ; 
one flowing towards the south, the other to the north. 
This current is cold water, and is some ten degrees 
colder than the sea through which it flows. Hum- 
boldt was the person who first observed both the 
temperature and the effect of this current. Hence 
by some it is called the Humboldt current, by others, 
the Peruvian current. The effect of this current is 
very remarkable, upon the agricultural capabilities of 
these two countries. You know that rain and mist 
are caused by the commingling of currents of air of 
different temperatures. A current of air from the 
north meets the southern current, which is warmer 
and moister, and the mingling of the two causes the 
moisture of the air to be precipitated in the form of 
fogs and mist, and sometimes to fall in the form of 
dew. Now the mingling of this warm air, as it 
passes over this cold current, becomes cooled down. 
The moment it comes in contact with the current of 
cold air, it forms a mist, and at certain seasons of the 
year, a great deal of mist and fog hangs over the 
whole coast. During the prevalence of these fogs 
and mists, the atmosphere loses its transparency, and 
the sun is obscured for months together. The vapors 
are so thick, that the sun seen through them, with 
the naked eye, assumes the appearance of the moon's 
disc, sometimes as red as blood. This fog is altoge- 
ther the result of the causes I have mentioned. The 
effect of these fogs, which cover the whole surface of 
this coast, to a greater or less extent, and fall in re- 
freshing dews at night, is to cause vegetation to spring 



TO PRACTFCAL AGRICULTURE. 41 

up, and flourish, where no rain ever falls, and thus, 
from these simple, natural causes, this large area, 
which would otherwise be a desert, is made capable 
of producing enough to sustain a large population. 

In this connection, permit me to draw your atten- 
tion to another interesting fact. This current, com^ 
bined with the prevailing southeast wind, favors 
every voyage on this coast from south to north, to 
such an extent, that one may easily sail in four or five 
days from Callao to Guayaquil, and in eight or nine 
days fron^ Valparaiso to Callao, a distance of more 
than 1,600 miles. But" the same current, flowing 
north, with the prevailing wind, retards the passage 
of vessels in the opposite direction. But the last 
difficulty which arises from the provision made for 
the sustenance of man, in promoting the growth of 
that on which he lives, has been counteracted by 
human intelligence and skill. The power of steam, 
or rather its application to the purposes of navigation, 
conquers this difficulty, and a voyage which it took 
weeks to accomplish, is now made in the same num- 
ber of days, and the commerce of this coast is carried 
on with great facility. 

Another compensation for this difficulty. In order 
that steam may be employed upon this coast, it is 
necessary that there should be a supply of fuel — there 
is such a supply. At Valparaiso, there is a large 
deposit of coal. Thus Providence, which is always 
kind to us, and which always provides some way in 
which human ingenuity may overcome obstacles, 
seems here to have provided the means for overcom- 



42 RELATIONS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

ing the difficulties to navigation, caused by this cold 
current, which is so necessary to the subsistence and 
comfort of the inhabitants of that part of the world. 

Gentlemen, I might here draw your attention to 
Ancient Physical Geography. I have spoken of mo- 
dern physical geography, as it exists now. I might 
speak of ancient physical geography, as it existed at 
a very remote period, and show you what currents 
and drifts existed then, how far they have modified 
the face of the country, and, in fact, determined 
not only the capabilities of the soil, but the'modes of 
culture, the crops best fitted to particular localities, 
and the kind of husbandry necessary to their growth. 
But in this lecture, I have trespassed on the time 
usually allotted to such an address, and therefore 
I shall not enter on this new subject, but content my- 
self with such illustrations as have been already pre- 
sented, hoping that the few points which I have put 
before you, selected from a vast and extended field, 
will satisfy you that the phenomena of physical 
geography not only present a vast fund of informa- 
tion of the highest interest, and especially to those 
whose leading pursuit is agriculture ; but that it -does 
open up very large views of the economy of Pro- 
vidence, which are elevating and improving to the 
human mind, and which those who have to do with 
the aflfairs of nations, above all others, should be 
familiar with. 



LECTURE II. 

RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY TO PRACTI- 
CAL AGRICULTURE. 

Gentlemen : The subject of my lecture this eve- 
ning is the Relations of Geology and Mineralogy to 
Practical Agriculture- In addressing such an audience 
as this on such a subject, I can have no apprehension 
lest my subject should be either undervalued or too little 
understood. It is under the encouragement of the 
Legislature of the State of New York, that the Silu- 
rian system of rocks, which is so largely developed 
in ^the western part of this, State, has been made 
classic ground among all geologists and paleontolo- 
gists throughout the whole world ; and there is not 
in Europe a single lover of this branch of natural 
science who does not feel grateful to you for the 
liberal patronage you have bestowed on his favorite 
pursuit. It is very rare that a work so rich in prac- 
tical and money benefit to the community, as your 
series of volumes on the Natural History of the State 
are sure to be, should be at the same time accompa- 
nied by so large a harvest of reputation. My only 
apprehension, in bringing this subject before you, is, 



44 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

that the skill and labors of your own Hall and 
Emmons may have already made you so familiar with 
it as to rob of all novelty anything I may have to 
offer, and to make my illustrations less interesting 
than they might otherwise have been. But by draw- 
ing my illustrations mainly from my own country, 
with the geology of which I am more familiar, I may 
possibly be able, in some measure, to weather this 
difficultv. 



Geology. 

Gentlemen, Geology occupies itself with the crust 
of the globe ; that is, with all the solid materials 
which we can get at — that forms the subject of geolo- 
gical investigation. Now, the surface of the earth 
consists of a series of rocks, that lie generally one 
over another, like the leaves of a book, forming gene- 
rally stratified deposits, or rocks, lying in beds, or 
strata. The greater part of them, though not now 
lying perfectly flat, were at one time horizontal, but 
are now generally inclined a little. (Professor J. 
here pointed to a geological section, where the differ- 
ent strata were represented by different colors, and 
show^ing their different inclinations ; and went on to 
say that these strata had certain relations to each 
other ; that is, in regard to position, one being gene- 
rally highest, and the other lowest). Wherever you 
find these stratified rocks, the same relative position 
w^hich they have in one part of the world, will hold 
good all over the globe, unless where, from some 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 45 

extraordinary circumstance, this natural position has 
been disturbed. 

Besides these stratified rocks, which form, by far 
the largest portion of the crust of the globe, there 
are rocks unstratified — rocks which do not occur in 
strata, but which present themselves in large masses, 
rocks which, when broken, are found to be one solid 
mass, having no strata. There are many stratified 
rocks, which are known by different names — but 
those which are unstratified, and which cover a large 
portion of the surface of the earth, are not so various. 
One portion of them is called " trap rock," which is a 
dark-colored rock, and occurs in great quantities ; 
and another is the granite, of which there is an abund- 
ance in your own State. All the northeastern part 
of the State of New York consists of this granite. 



Composition of Rocks and Origin of Soils. 

So much in regard to the relative position of rocks ; 
for this is quite enough for our purpose. These rocks 
have generally definite compositions, or definite com- 
ponent parts ; by this, I mean a composition, which, 
in some cases, is very easily ascertained, and in other 
cases, is characteristic of the rock. (Professor J. here 
pointed to the geological section of the State, and 
remarked that this red indicates a sandstone ; this 
blue, a limestone, &c.) Now, all stratified rocks — 
those rocks which lie one above another, as repre- 
sented on this map — all consist in one or other of 



46 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

three things — of clay, or of sandstone more or less 
hardened; or of limestone, clay, sand and lime,- 
forming all of the great number of stratified rocks 
occurring on the surface of the globe. But these are 
not always found, occurring singly ; but sometimes 
we find sand and clay mixed, partaking of the cha- 
racter of both ; sometimes lime is found mixed either 
with clay or sandstone — sometimes all three are found 
together ; so that these three things, clay, sand, and 
lime, either singly or in combination, enter into the 
composition, and form the substance of the stratified 
bodie of which I have been speaking. Now you will 
see from this, at once, when I make you acquainted 
with the further fact, that these rocks, presenting 
themselves above the general surface, are more or 
less 'ground down by the action of the ordinary at- 
mospheric causes, the rains, the ice, and other forces 
that are continually in operation. You will see, I re- 
peat, that, supposing a rock to be clay, which is thus 
ground down, that it will form a peculiar kind of soil. 
A clay rock will form one kind of soil, and sandstone 
another, and limestone another, and a mixture of any 
two of them will form a fourth ; a mixture of certain 
other two, a fifth ; and thus you may go on multiply- 
ing varieties of soil, from these three kinds ol rock 
all of them more or less varied, but having the sarnie 
general character. 

Now, practical farmers know very well, that the 
materials of these diflferent rocks, crumbling down by 
the action of the causes 1 have mentioned, will form 
each a different kind of soil, each of which requires a 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 47 

different kind of husbandry, and each suitable to the 
production of different crops, varying with the kind 
of rock that forms the soil. I mean to say, that the 
husbandry and treatment do not differ in the same de- 
gree as the soils ; but that because the soils differ, the 
treatment must differ very much. The clay rocks 
will give a stiff' and moist soil, capable of producing 
good crops in a hot year ; scarcely any in a wet year, 
but can always be made to produce good crops, when 
thoroughly drained. The sandstones produce a sandy 
soil, which is hungry and poor ; which will drink up 
all the water, and eat up all the manure ; an easy soil 
to till, but generally unproductive, except in the hands 
of a skilful man. Again, if you have limestone rocks, 
the soil will not be altogether consisting of lime. We 
have such in England, which is of a rich character, 
and easily cultivated. (Professor J. here pointed to 
a geological map of England, on which were repre- 
sented different kinds of rock or soil by different 
colors. These colors, he continued, appear in irre- 
gular masses, varying as the character of the rock or 
soil varies, or rather as the edges of the different kind 
of strata come to the surface). All the stratified rocks 
being inclined, they present only their edges, as it 
were, to the surface. If they were horizontal, or 
nearly so, they would spread over larger, if not the 
whole surface of the country, and vast tracts w^ould 
be represented by the same color. But being inclined, 
the surface, of course, is varied in the character of 
the soil, and is represented by other irregularities of 
color. (Professor J. here pointed to a geological map 



48 RELATIONS OP GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

of New York, presenting to the eye, the similar vari- 
ations of rock or soil, of which its surface is com- 
posed.) I was observing, he continued, that a lime- 
stone rock has a soil composed altogether of lime. 
Such a soil is very rare, but there are some countries 
where such soils are found. Here, for instance, 
(pointing to the southeastern part of England,) is a 
soil composed of chalk only. This is one instance 
where a soil consists in a great part of limestone, for 
chalk is a variety of limestone. But if, as is frequent- 
ly the case, limestones are more or less mixed with 
sandstone, or with clay ground down, then it forms a 
calcareous or loamy soil ; and every farmer knows, 
who has given any attention to the composition of 
soils, that this is not only an easy soil to till and plow, 
but in general, a fertile soil, and a soil which does not 
need" the peculiar management which sandy soils re- 
quire to make them fertile, nor the drainage which 
the clay soils must be subjected to, to make them pro- 
ductive. 

Let me illustrate these general characteristics of 
the soils formed by different kinds of rocks, by a more 
particular reference to this geological map of Eng- 
land. The geologist has shown that the crust of the 
globe consists, mostly, of a series of stratified bodies 
having their peculiar general characteristics, and 
which occur in a certain order, one above another. 
The studies and researches of the agricultural geolo- 
gist have shown that soils are generally formed from 
the materials of the rocks that have crumbled down. 
By studying such a geological map as this, you may 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 49 

see what rocks exist in different countries, and from 
the combined observation, made by geologists and 
agriculturists, it is at once seen, by an inspection of 
these colors, what are the qualities of the soil. 

Here, said Professor J., (pointing to the easterly 
part of England,) is a purple tint, representing the 
edge of one of the stratified rocks which makes its 
way down south, until it is finely washed by the 
waters of the sea. This rock, consisting chiefly of 
clay, forms a tenacions clay soil, of which there is no 
example in Scotland. It is so strong that it cannot 
be cultivated, but has laid in grass for a long time, and 
there is the finest and most luxuriant grass land in 
England. 

(Professor J. here pointed to a yellow tinted strip 
of land in the neighborhood of Oxford). There, said 
he, is a bed of clay .500 feet thick. It is soft, but 
exceedingly tenacious. It forms a soil, which, when 
exposed to the sun, in a hot summer's day, hardens so 
much, that it will ring under the stroke of a hammer, 
and when wet, is so tenacious that the cattle, which 
walk over it, can hardly draw their feet out of it. 
Hence, in the county of Huntingdon, where a large 
portion of the surface is covered with this kind of 
clay, the soil is so difficult and expensive to work, 
that though the farmers are, on the whole, pretty 
well off, they complain that they make little or no 
profit, and that though in a hot summer, they can 
grow good crops of wheat, in a wet summer they can 
raise no crops at all. These stiff soils will not admit 



50 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

of profitable cultivation, naturally, though in hot sum- 
mers, barley will grow well. Practical men well 
understand why this is so, when they know that a 
very short period intervenes between the wet and 
dry seasons, during which it can be brought to the 
condition in which it is proper to put the seed into it. 
This makes it exceedingly expensive land to work, 
and though thorough draining is now bringing in much 
of this clay formation, still the land, through the whole 
extent of country covered by it, bears a very low 
price, and rents for much less than other lands, being 
so much more difficult to work, from the fact that the 
work must all be done in a short period of time, and 
requires a much larger force to do it, and the crops 
are uncertain. 

Now for another kind of rock or soil. I could give 
you other instances of clay soil. In Scotland, there 
are such instances, and the Scotch farmers; have found 
out a way of cultivating them ; but these are not 
clay soils, of the character of which I have spoken. 
Hence, it is, that Scotch farmers, who have emigrated 
into this clay region of Huntingdon county, have 
uniformly failed. I was told of an instance, where 
twenty Scotch farmers had emigrated into that county, 
and rented lands there, every one of whom went to 
the wall. So very difficult is it, for a man to change 
his location, and go to a new kind of soil and country, 
having only the habits and knowledge which he has 
acquired in his own country. U he go into a new 
country, without knowing the nature of the new soil, 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 51 

which he attempts to cultivate, or the mode of culture 
best adapted to it — that man is sure to fail ; success 
only goes with knowledge. A man who has a 
knowledge of the nature of soils^and the true princi- 
ples of culture can go upon any kir^^ of soil in any 
country and meet with success. 

But I said I would take you to another kind of soil. 
There, (pointing to the northern part of England,) is 
a red sandstone ; here is some of it, (pointing to the 
map,) in Scotland. This is red sandstone, known by 
the name of old red sandstone. This consists of sand, 
cemented with clay, presenting a red color, and form- 
ing a reddish soil, it is in great part sandy. This red 
rock, (pointing again to the map,) represents Wales. 
In some parts of that country, it is so sandy and 
hungry, that it drinks up all the_water that falls upon 
it, and eats up all the manure that is put upon it. Of 
course it cannot be cultivated with profit in the ordinary 
manner — but properly cultivated, it can be made to 
yield very large profits. Supposing, as is frequently 
the case, a hill of sandstone isTound in the neighbor- 
hood of a hill of clay, these two, when mingled in 
proper proportions, form a loamy soil which is ex- 
ceedingly fertile and easy to work. This combina- 
tion forms the whole of the valley of Strathmore, in 
Scotland.* These soils are exceedingly rich and 
fertile, when cultivated with skill, yielding large 
profits, both to the landlord and tenant. To give 
some idea of the value of this land, I may mention, 

* Strathmore means " great valley." 



52 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

that this tract, at a period not far distant, paid about 
£8 an acre of rent ; on an average, it now pays £5 or 
£6 per acre. The farmers who cultivate this land, 
have become exceedingly skillful. In the working of 
this kind of land, •it is not difficult to plow ; it can be 
early cultivated in the spring, and the fall rains do 
not come on so early, as to prevent the proper pre- 
parations for the winter grain. These men, who 
cultivate this land, have become so well attached to 
it, and know so well the value of it, that they have 
overspread all this red track in the northern part of 
England. By this, I rrrean, they are all men of the 
same family, or blood, and they have extended all 
over the region where this red land prevails. They 
have crept further north into Sutherland, and are now 
going into the Orkney Islands. On this red land, 
though the climate is far different from that below, 
far up into that extreme northern region, they are 
raising crops of wheat, equal to those of more favora- 
ble climates. Knowing as they do well, the kind of 
tillage the land requires, and the general modes of 
culture, so that all this land, though lying far north, 
is of as good a character, in all respects, as that I just 
pointed to, further south. But after all, it is only in 
cases of necessity, that they go to these cold countries. 
It is because they can find no better land to cultivate, 
and when they can find no more land that suits them 
there, they emigrate to the New World. 

Professor J. here pointed to another tract of clay 
soil. This, he said, is a colder soil ; a marsh, covered 
with peat bog, lakes, and stagnant water, with here 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 53 

and there rocks, and here and there cultivated spots. 
The inspection of such a map as this, tells me, tells 
you, if you understand the effects of the character of 
rocks, or husbandry, the kind of culture best suited to 
particular localities, and which must be followed, if 
the land is to be cultivated with profit. It tells me, 
also, what method is to be adopted to improve it. I 
know that in such a country, the first thing to be 
done, is to drain it. Then again, if I find one kind of 
rock, lying at one particular place, I know that there 
is another rock of a particular character, lying some- 
where about it, either far or near, and that a certain 
other rock, lies under it, either near or remote. See 
how this bears on the improvement of such land as 
this. I find that loam is near it ; and this physiology 
of the country, tells me at once, where to get the ma- 
terials, with which to improve my land. 

It is of gi'eat consequence to know more in regard 
to these soils ; to know more than that it consists of 
sand or lime ; to know more than that it consists of 
clay or sand ; it is of great consequence to know 
whether it contains more or less, of one or the other 
of these substances; for, if a particular soil requires 
Jime to improve it, it is quite clear that the soil is 
naturally deficient in lime. Now, it is the character 
of this formation, of which I am speaking, that it is 
deficient in lime. You have all heard of the forest of 
Ardennesj in the northern part of France. It is full 
of bogs, marshes, and lakes, a most inhospitable tract 
of land. This is precisely the character of land I 
have described, and which has this feature particu- 



54 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

larly. of a great deficiency of lime. Knowing that 
such is the character of the formation, then I know 
the nature of the soil and the kind of husbandry best 
suited to it ; and, if there be a farmer living there, 
whose condition is not one of the poorest kind, then I 
know how the condition of things has been altered, 
and how the land has been improved. 

Recollect, I was just stating, that if lime is to be 
used as an improver, the quantity to be used is a mat- 
ter of importance ; hence, we must know how much 
the soil contains, if any, and hence our analysis of the 
soils must be more rigid, if we would arrive at safe 
conclusions on this subject. I have here a table, 
(which the Professor showed to the audience,)* copied 
from one of the volumes of Dr. Emmons, representing 
the composition of the slates and shales of New York 
and other places. Among them, I find some soils, 
which contain a great per centage of lime. The 
Marcellus slate contains a great deal. This is a very 
valuable table, but time will not permit me to go into 
its details. It is quite well to know, if lime is to be 
applied to the soil, and a certain quantity of lime is 
necessary to make all soils productive ; if that is to be 
done, it is well to know, before you commence, how 
much lime there is in the land originally. 

I do not know that time will permit me to go into 
this branch of the subject further. I proceed, there- 
fore, to draw your attention to the unstratified rocks. 
In England, there are very few trap rocks — there is 

* See Note E— Appendix. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 55 

very little in New York, but in Scotland, there is a 
large extent of it. These trap rocks are the old lava, 
thrown up by volcanic agencies. These rocks crum- 
ble down and form a very good soil. It is a remarka 
ble circumstance, that, wherever these trap rocks are 
met with, in all parts of the world, in crumbling down 
they readily make soils of great fertility, capable of 
fertilising other fields in their vicinity. Professor J. 
here stated an incident illustrative of this fact. He 
was visiting the farm of a farmer in Scotland, who 
was actually taking off twelve inches of the surface of 
one field, consisting of this soil formed of trap, and 
spreading it over other fields. This expensive opera- 
tion he found yielded a good return on the outlay. 

Professor J. here pointed to the northeastern part 
of New York, where the granite occurs. Granite 
yields a poor soil, which is sandy and hungry, consist- 
ing chiefly of gravel and sand, which does not present 
great attractions to the farmer, and, in the old coun- 
try, is left to be improved and settled when there is 
no other to cultivate. 

Here, said Professor J., let me take an illustratioij 
or two from your own country. You know that a 
wheat country consists of a soil formed of rocks, re- 
presented on the maps by a particular color, chiefly 
of limestone. He then pointed to another stratum re- 
presenting a hungry sandstone, then to another, re- 
presenting the Helderberg limestone. Of all the rocks, 
this forms the most fertile soil ; it is a strong soil, not 
diflicult to work, and retains the water which falls 
upon it. He then pointed to a clay series of rocks» 
4 



56 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

which do not produce a fertile soil, but, when mingled 
with the sandstones, form a pretty good soil. The 
limestone, which is in itself a good soil, mixed with 
clay, forms a great Indian-corn-growing country. 

One point I desire to bring under your notice. I 
have told you that if a series of rocks be represented 
by my four fingers, they always occur in a certain 
order, one above another — here is a sandstone and 
there a clay ; this order is never inverted. This is 
a matter of very great importance, with reference to 
the flowing of the water from one end to the other of 
these strata; because it is obvious that, by this means, 
what is a sandstone at one end may become a clay 
rock at the other. The Helderberg series consist 
of clay and sandstone. Toward the west it is clayey, 
and towards the east it is silicious. Hence the soil is 
diflTerent as you proceed from west to east, so that the 
geologist not only requires to know the relative posi- 
tion of one rock to another, but whether the rock is 
liable to these changes in its composition. Hence it 
is often difficult to determine absolutely, from an in- 
spection of the geological map, the precise quality of 
the soil in different positions. 

One or two other illustrations which the United 
States present. If you go south into Alabama, and 
pass from the rich alluvial soil of the Sea Islands over 
this whole extent of country, from south to north, you 
find nothing more convincing, from the different qual- 
ities of soil, and their capabilties of producing different 
kinds of crops, of the fact, that the geological structure 
of the country determines its agricultural products. I 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 57 

must draw your attention, in this connection, to France 
which presents another remarkable instance of the 
relations of geology to the general fertility of a coun- 
try. M. Sullin, in his "Voyages Agronomiques," has 
divided France into eight regions, according to their 
fertility and agricultural productions. CHmate, in so 
extensive a country, has, no doubt, something to do 
with the fact, that the vine and Indian corn do not 
flourish in the first of these districts, that of the north ; 
and with the other fact, that the region of the south is 
also called that of olives. But it is, nevertheless, re- 
markable, that this country divides itself naturally 
into as many geological regions, almost coincident 
with the agricultural regions of M. Sullin, and thus 
geology and practical observation are coincident in 
their results. 

Another point will admit of considerable illustra- 
tion, but I can only spend a moment or two on this 
head. I have spoken of the composition of soils, and 
the great differences which exist between them. I 
have spoken of clay as forming one great group of 
soils. But here is a remarkable distinction. The same 
kind of material may, under different circumstances, 
present different varieties of soil. If 1 take this piece 
of clay, and go into the market, offering a farm for 
sale, and saying, I have a farm of this kind of clay, 
the answer would be, we want nothing to do with 
your farm ; but if I tell a farmer, here is another farm* 
of this soil, holding a piece of dry clay, he will at once 
say, I will go and see it. Thus the simple inspection 
of these two kinds of soil will tell any practical man 



58 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

that they are more or less suited to cultivation. In 
Scotland, we produce magnificent crops on these clay 
soils. These clay lands being drained are thus ren- 
dered capable of culture, and this depends, not on any 
new chemical combination, or change, but on the state 
in which the material exists. It so happens in all 
parts of the world, that there occur rocks of the same 
material, which are sometimes harder and sometimes 
softer ; then again, there are rocks which are called 
metamorphic, which have been analysed and found to 
contain the same elements, and yet are so different in 
their physical character that, when in one form, they 
are capable of growing green crops — in the other 
fitted for wheat. This is an important point, and has 
an intimate connection with the deductions drawn 
from an inspection of a geological map. 

I should have liked here to have drawn your atten- 
tion to the modifications which the action of water has 
produced on the character of the soil. I showed you 
in my previous lecture that there were currents in the, 
sea, and how they affected the atmosphere and the 
agricultural capabilities of various large sections of 
the globe. But I did not then speak of the transport- 
ing action of these currents. They carry along with 
them icebergs on their surface, and gravel and sand 
at the bottom, depositing them in various places on 
their rout. And when I remind you that this part of 
the world, (pointing to the northern part of America,) 
was once below the level of the sea, and that the 
Arctic current swept over it, with all the rocks and 
substances with which it was charged, spreading them 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 59 

wherever it went, you may well expect that traces of 
this current may be found on the surface of the globe. 
This is the case, we find, in the Genesee Valley, 
where not only the materials are found which now 
form the bottom of Lake Ontario, but we find that 
these materials essentially modify the soils of this 
part of the country. It is an interesting and curious 
fact in the geology of your State, that this Arctic 
current swept through that valley, and carried the 
materials which it brought with it over a large surface 
of country. All this is a matter of interest, because it 
shows you that a knowledge of these drifts, and of the 
loose materials which they bring with them, is of as 
much consequence as a knowledge of the rocks them- 
selves. I shall have occasion to revert again to this 
subject ; I pass over it now. I could present, if time 
permitted, many illustrations of the effects of this 
current on the agricultural character of other districts. 



Chemical Ingredients of Rocks and Soils. 

I have shown you the general application and rela- 
tions of geology to agriculture, and how the kind of 
rock determines the quality of the soil ; but there oc- 
cur in these rocks mineral substances of various kinds. 
Now, a knowledge of these substances is an essential 
branch of geological study. If you find in any one 
rock that there occurs a certain mineral substance, 
you have acquired a knowledge of the composition of 
that rock in every other country. If you find in any 



60 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

one country — in England, for instance — what is valu- 
able as anjngredient of the soil, you may well infer 
that the same thing exists in other countries in rocks 
of similar character. One word of explanation. If I 
light a match, an ordinary lucifer match, a white 
smoke will be observed ; at the end of this match^ 
there is a little phosphorus ; that white smoke is the 
smoke of the phosphorus, and the substance produced 
is phosphoric acid — a white solid substance. This 
phosphoric acid combines with lime, and forms phos- 
phate of hme. If I take a piece of bone and burn it, 
it will blaze for a while, and bye-and-bye it will cease 
to burn ; but the part of the bone that is left is bone- 
ash, and is white. This boneash, as you all know, is 
phosphate of lime. This phosphate of lime exists in 
all bones ; it is also found in the earth. There are cer- 
tain geological formations in which it has been lately 
discovered in considerable quantities.* In my subse- 
quent lectures I shall show you, that this is an im- 
portant material in the hands of the practical farmer. 
In the eastern corner of England there is a rock called 
"crag," consisting of sand and shells, among which 
were found lumps, which, when examined, were found 
to consist of this phosphate of lime. All know that 
bones are employed as manure ; they contain phosphate 
of lime. Now, if that be the case, it is obvious that 
if you can find it in the form of a mineral, and apply 
it to the land, it would be valuable to you. Some 
farmers are in the habit of employing guano, but this 

* See note F — Appendix. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 61 

phosphate of lime has been found, by experiment, to 
be equally good ; and when I tell you that this phos- 
phate of lime, thus dug out of this formation, had been 
known to practical manufacturers for years, who had 
all the machinery for getting it out, and grinding it 
down, and that they are kept fully employed in pre- 
paring it with sulphuric acid, in the form of super- 
phosphate of lime, you will see that it must be an 
important material to the farmers. When you learn 
that the manufacturers are making money by selling 
this substance to the farmers, who, in England, do 
not throw away their money in experiments, you may 
be sure, that there is something in it. Now, where- 
ever that rock occurs, it is very probable that that 
substance is found in it. (Professor J. here pointed 
to a green-sand soil, which he said was found in the 
southern pa^rt of England, and was remarkably pro- 
ductive of wheat.) All have heard of the marl pits, 
which exist in this neighborhood, and the materials 
of which, for hundreds of years, have been dug out 
to fertilise the land. In this marl, are found little 
nodules, that consist almost altogether of this phos- 
phate of lime ; here also, are found bodies of marl, 
five and six feet thick, containing six per cent of phos- 
phate of lime ; knowing this, you have a clue to the 
fertile character of the soils in this region. 

Professor J. here related an anecdote illustrative of 
the great fertility of some of the hop lands of Surrey, 
of the great value of the hop crop, all of which was 
the result of the application of this fertilising sub- 
stance, or of its existence naturally in the soil. This 



62 RELATIONS OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 

phosphate of lime, he continued, explains this pro- 
ductiveness. Wherever this green sand comes to 
the surface, there you may look for these same phos- 
phates, and there you may look for good crops. 
This green sand occurs in France and Germany, 
and other European countries. In New Jersey, you 
have a green sand, vi^hich belongs to the same class 
as ours in England. 

Nov^^, gentlemen, you see how important the indica- 
tions of geology are, in showing where to make se- 
lections of lands for farming purposes. If, among 
your tertiary rocks, you find anything analogous to 
this sand, you know that you have found a valuable 
fertilising material. Then there is another mode in 
which this phosphate occurs. Limestone occurs in 
all countries; its qualities are various; some contain 
animal remains; the bones of animals contain phos- 
phate ; therefore it is a matter of great importance to 
know which of two limestones contains the most 
phosphate. I shall show you, in a subsequent lecture, 
the decrease of crops from the absence of this phos- 
phate in the soil, and how, by restoring this ingredi- 
ent, the land may be restored to fertility. In Scot- 
land, there is some limestone that has been found, by 
experience, to be better than others ; and it turns out, 
by experiment, that it is in consequence of the pre- 
sence of more of tiiis phosphate in one than in the 
other. I have alluded to the existence of green sands 
in your country. I learn from Professor Emmons 
and Professor Hall, and Professor Logan, of Canada, 
that there are great quantities of this phosphate in 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 63 

different parts of the country ; that it exists at Rossie, 
and that the iron ore of Clinton county contains this 
phosphate of lime. If it be true that it has been found 
profitable to buy this phosphate at £6 to £lO per ton, 
it cannot be unprofitable to inquire whether, in your 
country, the material cannot be found in quantity 
enough to bring it within the reach of farmers ; and 
I am happy to find that there are many inquirers in 
this State who are eager to explore and find out this 
material which has been found so essential to agricul- 
tural improvement. You see, said he, how wide a 
field this subject opens — you see that the application 
of physical geography tells on the pockets of the far- 
mer, and teaches him how he may grow larger crops. 
This, after all, is the test of the value of science, when 
applied to the practical affairs of life. Unless you 
can show the practical farmer — I speak of the farmers 
of England — that this will tell on his pocket, you will 
scarcely prevail on him to give it his attention ; but 
when he convinces himself that such and such a prd-^ 
cess of tillage or manuring will actually enrich him, 
then he is ready enough to follow your suggestions. 
I believe that before we get through, you will find 
that this subject touches, very nearly, the pocket of 
the farmer. 

4* 



LECTURE IIJ. 

THE RELATIONS OF BOTANY, VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, 
AND ZOOLOGY TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 

Gentlemen: The subject of the lecture this even- 
ing, is the relations of Botany, Vegetable Physiology ^ 
and Zoology to Practical Agriculture. 

If the other subjects, of w^hich I have treated in the 
preceding lectures, were far too wide to admit even 
of a sketch or outline of them in a single lecture, lam 
sure you will appreciate the necessity, if I crowd into 
one lecture the three subjects which I am now about 
to bring before you, of my being even more brief and 
desultory than heretofore. 

Botany. 

First, as to the general relations of Botany. You 
will bear in mind, that, as botany is the science of 
plants, it must have a close relation to the culture of 
plants, and as far as these general relations are con- 
cerned, they involve the natural relations which all 
plants have one t another. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 65 

The general natural relations of plants are such 
for instance, as that all the different kinds of corn 
plants, commonly known as cerealia, and all the 
grasses, producing seeds of a similar character, pos- 
sess nutritious properties of a similar kind. The 
potato possesses a nutritive character, different from 
the corn plant. This, however, is not so important a 
matter, as it is to know that the entire family to which 
the potato belongs, all possess a similar character ; 
so that, if you know the character of one, you know 
the character of the whole group of plants. So far 
as these general relations are concerned, the subject 
is familiar enough to all, to lead them to conclude that 
it is one of considerable interest to the practical agri- 
culturist. 

Nor shall I enter into a minute analysis of the nature 
of plants, a province peculiar to the medical man who 
knows what substances belong to particular plants, 
and in what plants he is to look for pecuUar medicinal 
properties. 

Nor can I do more than bring to your notice the 
uses of botany to the art of horticulture, giving new 
esculents to the gardener, bringing new flowering 
plants, and new ornamental shrubs into your gardens, 
and teaching us how to transfer successfully, plants 
of value and beauty, from the climates which they 
naturally grow, and how to realise its importance to 
arboriculture, a branch which you do not follow as 
we do in England, because the extent of your natural, 
forests, rather gives you employment enough, in cut- 
ting down than in rearing up, but which in many parts 



66 THE RELATIONS OF BOTANY 

of Europe, is an engrossing pursuit, and has led 
botanists into all parts of the world, in search of new 
trees ; and thus the newly-discovered continent has 
been made to contribute to the beauty of the forests 
of the old. 

Structure of Plants. 

Passing over these relations, at which I can merely 
glance, I must now draw your attention to the struc- 
ture of plants, and to a description of their organs. 
In investigating the structure of plants, that of the 
leaves become essential, to know as well how plants 
live, as how they should be fed ; that is, to those who 
are desirous of understanding the principal branches 
o knowledge, on which all sound agriculture must be 
based. Among the circumstance connected with the 
structure of plants, the organisation of the leaf is of 
the greatest importance. The upper side differs gene- 
rally from the under ; when subjected to the magnify- 
ing power of the microscope, this difference is very 
striking. The under part of the leaf is found to be 
studded with little holes, or pores, or mouths, which 
sustain important functions or relations to the life of 
plants. They are very numerous. To give you some 
idea of their number, I may mention that on a square 
inch of a single leaf, twenty thousand of these little 
pores have been seen and counted. The number of 
these pores indicates to those who have studied this 
subject, the circumstances of climate and atmosphere 
to which the plant is adapted. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 67 

(Professor J. here pointed to a diagram, represent- 
ing on a large scale, the form of the pores of three 
different plants, showing their difference in size and 
shape). This peculiar structure, continued he, is so 
intimately connected with the functions of the leaf, 
that I must dwell upon it for a moment, to illustrate in 
what manner plants live, so far as their growth de- 
pends on the air. By means of these pores, they suck 
in aerial food from the atmosphere, the mode in which 
they drink it in, the quantity and the circumstances 
under which they absorb it most favorably ; that is, the 
circumstances of temperature and moisture, are related 
to the form and number of these pores, as they occur 
in particular kinds of leaves. 

The structure of the stems of plants is also one 
much connected with their growth. Those who have 
the curiosity to examine the structure of the stems of 
plants have only to turn to Professor Emmons' 
volume on the Agriculture of the State, where sections 
of plants and trees are given with great accuracy and 
beauty. These, as Professor E. well says, exhibit in a 
strong light, the important relations which science 
bears to the practical cultivation of these plants. 

The structure of the roots of plants, is another im- 
portant point, requiring a minute study into the man- 
ner in which the stem tapeVs down into the extreme 
fibres of the root of the spongy form of the extremi- 
ties of the roots, which enables it to draw to it, all of 
sustenance that it gets from the soil. Thus the habits 
of these roots are important. Some plants spread 
their roots over the surface, as the turnip, which 



OO THE RELATIONS OF BOTANY 

spreads its roots to the distance of four or five feet. 
You may readily trace them to the distance of three 
or four and even five feet, showing from how great a 
distance these plants draw their sustenance. Some 
plants descend to a great depth. This is another im- 
portant point ; for if the habit of a plant is thus to go 
down to a great depth, and if the deeper it goes, the 
more food it extracts from the soil, then it is quite 
clear, that the more shallow the soil is kept, the less 
the farmer has studied the soil. 

Now, among the plants of this habit, wheat is one 
that will send its roots three or four feet into the soil, 
in search of food ; and the more mellow the soil, the 
more easy is it to get the food, which enables it to 
grow to a great height, and to reach its maturity. 
Hence a knowledge of this fact, in regard to wheat 
and flax, suggests the necessity that the soil should be 
deeply cultivated — that the farmer should plow deep, 
in order to avail himself of this store house of natural 
food, which is essential to supply the wants of the 
plant, and enable it, through the medium of its roots, 
to bring this food to the surface, and make it useful. 
Thus, some plants have roots so formed, that they 
will grow only in light soils — others in stiff soils only. 
Wheat requires a strong and stiff soil — the barley and 
the turnip a light soil, ahd this fact indicates that 
where a farmer has only a strong soil, he must lighten 
it in order to grow barley or the turnip ; and that 
some soils must be drained in order to cultivate these 
two things. 

On the other hand the different kinds of plants in- 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 69 

dicate to the skillful man different kinds of soil. If I 
had a geological map, and if time permitted, I could 
show you how certain plants indicate certain geologi- 
cal formations ; how I could know, from the kind of 
plants growing on a particular spot, of what rocks 
the soil was formed, and what kind of rocks I could 
there look for with certainty. I have here a list of 
different plants, with the different geological forma- 
tions on which they are found ; but I cannot dwell 
upon it. I have a list of trees, also, which are pecu- 
liar to certain formations ; but I prefer to draw your 
attention to the agricultural indications of plants. 

Certain plants, (the names of which I need not 
give, as they are scientific names, and require a 
knowledge of botany to understand them,) certain 
plants indicate certain soils, as the thistle indicates a 
rich and productive soil. Keep down these thistles 
and you have a good soil. Brambles indicate a 
loamy soil ; the wild radish a poor soil ; the rush, a 
good soil, but one that is useless for want of drain- 
age ; the common ragwort, (rag weed,) which occurs 
in arable lands, indicates that the land is badly cul- 
tivated. 

Then you all know that trees indicate different 
varieties of soil. The beech, a light soil ; maple, 
also a light soil of a very superior character. I have 
here a list of forest trees, and the different formations 
which they severally indicate, but I need not dwell on 
this part of the subject. 

The habits of plants, particularly of those which 
infest the soil, are important, as teaching us how to 



70 THE RELATIONS OF BOTANY 

exterminate them ; that is, it is important to know 
whether they are annual, biennial, or perennial. 
Those that are perennial, like the Canada thistle, in- 
dicate from that fact how they are to be extermi- 
nated ; if annual, they must be kept down every year ; 
if biennial, they must, to be exterminated, be attended 
to once in two years. Perennial plants require to be 
more effectually exterminated, according to the cha- 
racter of their seeds — as, for instance, whether they are 
strong, and will remain long in the ground without rot- 
ting. The seed of the pigeon weed, for instance, is of 
this character, and may be carried to great distances, 
without being destroyed. This vitality of seeds, there- 
fore, is of great consequence to the practical man. 

Again, the mode in which plants are propagated is 
another subject of importance. Many of them are 
propagated only by seeds, and if you destroy the 
seeds, you are certam they will not appear again. 
But there are others which are propagated not only 
by seeds, but by running roots ; of this character is 
the Canada thistle, so that if you cut down the plant, 
before the seeds are ripened, the roots will propagate 
and increase the crop. So with the common twitch 
grass ; the more you cut it down, the more it will 
grow. These facts bear closely on the practieal 
operations of the farmer, and in this respect botany 
has a direct and a special reference to the art on 
which the farmer lives. 

I need not go further into details, to convince you 
how far an ignorance of botany stands in the way of 
progress in agricultural pursuits. But there are 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 71 

many different kinds of plants, which botanists study, 
which are of particular interest to the practical 
farmer, or which, at least, possess as high an interest 
to them, as any other. 

I may mention mildew, smuts, and rust. This is a 
subject of the highest interest. By examining them 
closely through the microscope, botanists have dis- 
covered how they grow — what they are — how they 
propagate — how they get into the plant and seed — 
and how they may be exterminated. It is obvious 
that to exterminate smut, you must either destroy the 
seeds, (sporules,) when they have come to maturity, 
or destroy the plants before they have attained that 
state. But of all the smuts, or fungi, as they are 
called, that injuriously affect plants, the potato disease 
is one of the most remarkable ; and when we con- 
sider how important a root the potato is, and what 
great distress has followed the effects of this disease, 
you cannot fail to see that this branch of knowledge, 
the province of which is to investigate the causes of a 
disease like this, is deserving of all possible encour- 
agement. And though no study arrives at maturity 
at once, still, because we cannot discover everything 
in a moment, or by so short a process as we could 
wish, we are not, on that account, to discourage these 
investigations. 

Among the various kinds of smuts, affecting corn 
plants, that which affects Indian corn is the most re- 
markable. I have never seen its effects myself; but 
it is described as remarkable from the fact, that it 
can only be exterminated, by selecting the seed from 
localities not affected by it, or by cutting it out as 



72 THE RELATIONS OP BOTANY 

soon as it appears. But the most singular and inter- 
esting, is that kind of fungus which affects rye. It 
affects the ear of the rye, and the affected grains 
assume an appearance, not unlike small spurs, stick- 
ing out. This ergot of rye, as it is called, shows 
itself in most places, in low, wet and marshy lands, 
where rye is grown ; or in better land, in seasons of 
great rain, succeeded by great heat, and generally 
in moist years. When rye is afTected in this way, the 
ergot being ground up with the flour, produces disas- 
trous consequences, and persons have died who have 
eaten the bread made of it, under circumstances of dis- 
ease of a remarkable character. In consequence of this 
discovery, this substance has been introduced into the 
list of medicines, and employed with effect in certain 
cases. But it is a curious fact that this same ergot is 
found not only in rye, but in various kinds of the 
common grasses on which cattle feed, particularly 
among the rank grasses that grow in marshy places. 
It was immediately inferred that this kind of fungus, 
thus produced in these' grasses, on which cattle feed, 
and which, in rye, produced the remarkable, feverish 
effects on the human body, was the cause of similar 
effects in cattle — which in many districts prevails to 
such an extent that the farmers find it impossible to 
secure calves. Of course, the remedy suggested, is 
the removal of the cause ; and that is done by drain- 
ing the marshes on which these rank grasses grow. 
There are none of you who may not see, that the 
application of the results of this branch of study has 
a direct bearing on the practical pocket interests of 
the farmer, as it enables him to avoid evils and 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 73 

prevent losses, to which he must be otherwise liable. 
I pass over any further illustrations on this subject of 
botany, with a single additional remark , that this 
branch of science, in connection with chemistry, to 
which now may be added, the modern science of his- 
tology, has led to important results in reference to 
the cultivation of plants. 

(Professor J. here pointed to a diagram represent- 
ing, on a large scale, sections of the common carrot 
and beet). This is done altogether by the microscope, 
and they are faithful delineations ; but if you apply to 
these small cells, which cover the surface, chemical 
substances, you can produce changes of color in one 
part, and not in another; and knowing what kind of vege- 
table substances are lightened in color by chemical sub- 
stances, you draw conclusions as to the nature of the 
substance itself, though the particles are so minute 
that the chemist could not extract them for examina- 
tion. This constitutes that branch of science, called 
histology, (the anatomy of the minute textures,) and 
being applied to plants and animals, makes us ac- 
quainted with their entire nature, and on what cir- 
cumstances these changes when healthy, and when 
diseased, must depend. 

Zoology. 

I pass on to Zoology, and you cannot but perceive 
that the science that developes the general habits and 
structure of animals, the natural relations of one to 
another, and the functions of their several parts, how 



74 THE RELATIONS OF ZOOLOGY 

they live, and how they live best, must be of impor- 
tance to the agriculturist, and particularly that 
branch of it which relates to breeds of stock. 

As to breeds of stock, a knowledge of zoology is 
necessary to understand what is a breed, what quali- 
ties characterise different breeds, to know how to 
distinguish one breed from another, and how to pre- 
serve them pure — for the excellence of breeds is 
determined by the skill of the breeder. The physio- 
logy of animals is another branch, but want of time 
will not permit me to advance even the reasons 
necessary to satisfy you, that a knowledge of the dis- 
eases of animals involves a knowledge of the struc- 
ture and habits of the animals themselves ; and par- 
ticularly that the knowledge of the habits of animals 
that we desire to rear is of great consequence in the 
feeding of stock. To know that the absence of light, 
and of all causes of disturbance and irritation pro- 
motes the fattening of animals, is of consequence. 
To know that the warmth of animals will enable you 
to save a portion of the food which would otherwise 
be necessary, and to keep more stock than could 
otherwise be kept, that you can keep some stock in 
better condition than others, if warm ; these are mat- 
ters of importance. I do not know how your cattle 
houses are looked after, but in New Brunswick, I 
know that great attention is paid to this matter, and 
that the cold is carefully excluded from them. Exer- 
cise also wastes the substance of an animal, and he 
who would save the food, must avoid unnecessary 
exercise of his stock.. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 75 

I do not dwell longer on the relations of zoology to 
this department, but proceed to draw your attention 
to Entomology, or the study of insects. This study 
has been brought so prominently to your notice, in the 
Natural History of your State, that you cannot fail 
to see, that it is of great consequence to the practical 
farmer. There are insects which attack our orchards. 
The apple tree is liable to this attack ; peach or- 
chards are also liable to the attacks of certain in- 
sects. In England and Scotland, the forest trees are 
liable to these attacks. The Scotch firs particularly 
are subject to such attacks. Some sixty acres, cov- 
ered with this tree, were, in one instance, completely 
destroyed by insects. The mountain larch was, in 
one season, attacked throughout the whole island, and 
millions of these fine trees destroyed by insects. 
There are insects also which attack our crops. The 
wire worm every farmer knows ; the turnip beetle 
often destroys whole fields, so that the turnips have 
to be sowed over and over again. Then, there is 
the wheat fly. You, in the northern part of America, 
for many years, have been subjected to the visita- 
tions of this insect. I should like to illustrate how 
serious these visitations have been. I have here notes 
of the progress of the wheat fly in different parts of 
the United States, during the period alluded to ; but 
in a recent volume of your Society's Transactions, I 
find an able paper on this subject, by Dr. Fitch, which 
precludes the necessity of going into details. I may 
state, that, since 1842, it has spread from the east to 
the west, from the east to the north, and that its ra- 



76 THE RELATIONS OF ZOOLOGY 

vages have been more or less destructive in certain 
localities, graduallv putting a stop to the grovi^th of 
wheat, until during this last year, the wheat crop was 
scarcely touched at all ; but in Nev^r Brunswick it 
has ceased to be cultivated. 

I said I should like to draw your attention to the 
effects of the attacks of these insects, where they have 
pervaded whole districts and exterminated almost, 
certain crops, and sometimes changing the system of 
cropping and husbandry. I take a single illustration 
in the case of Canada, and shall present to you on this 
board two or three numbers, to show how striking 
have been the effects of the ravages of this fly on the 
habits of a people, and on the nature of the exports of 
the country. Professor J. here marked on the black 
board, the relative proportions of wheat and oats 
raised in Canada in three different years. 





1827. 


1831. 


1844. 


Wheat, bushels, . 


22,981,244 


3,404,756 


942,835 


Oats, bushels, . . 


2,341,529 


3,142,274 


7,238,763 



The most striking change, is that between '27 and 
'44, between the two main crops. This diminution in 
the wheat crop, indicates many things, melancholy to 
contemplate ; not the least of which, is the individual 
misery and suffering, to say nothing of the loss of 
property, this change in the kind of husbandry has 
brought upon the people visited by this insect. 

Now there is only one other point, in reference to 
which I would call your attention, and that is Micro- 
scopic Entomology, and the use of artificial means of 
investigating the nature of these minute animals, 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 77 

which cannot be seen by the naked eye. First, in re- 
gard to the nature of these animals. If I take a little 
pure water, and place it under the microscope, I can 
perceive nothing like animal life in it ; if I put a few 
grains of pepper into it, you will see the water teem- 
ing with minute animals, which are now named in- 
fusoria. This is produced by the infusion of the veg- 
etable. Hence the animals are called infusorial ani- 
mals. They exist in all river and sea water, in large 
quantities. The number of their species and genera 
is very great. It has been found that those which 
live in salt water, will not live so readily in fresh ; and 
when the fresh and salt water mingle, a change takes 
place, and the animals die in great numbers. They 
are naturally short-lived, but this change of water 
causes them to die in greater numbers than usual ; 
and mingle with the mud carried down by the rivers, 
and deposited where the fresh and salt water meet ; 
thus forming those rich Deltas, at the mouths of rivers, 
of which I have spoken in a former lecture. These 
rich Deltas, as I have told you, are formed in part 
from the kind of material brought down by the water, 
from the different geological formations, near its 
source, but the extreme richness which characterises 
them, where the fresh and salt water meet, arises from 
the circumstance, that there is a great deal of this an- 
imal matter deposited on these Deltas, and there un- 
dergoes decomposition, and mingles with the other 
materials of their composition. 

When I tell you that if you take the mud thus de- 
posited, and wash out the sand, so as to leave the mud 



78 THE RELATIONS OF ZOOLOGY 

pure, it has been found to contain sometimes 25 per 
cent, of the remains of these animals, and you will 
see how much this animal substance must contribute 
to the chemical combinations, which compose the soil, 
and to its fertility. It is interesting to know, from 
what causes, this richness comes, if you would judge 
correctly of the relative fertility of these soils, at the 
mouths of rivers and further up beyond the reach of 
salt water. As far as the salt water reaches, there 
the remains of animals are found in the mud of rivers 
and the more of them as you approach the salt water. 
But, gentlemen, these animals are also to be found in 
our soils, and though it has not been proved by in- 
vestigation directly, that they are capable of injuring 
the roots of plants, yet it is not improbable that they 
do interfere with the profits of the farmer,. and ma- 
terially affect the growth of plants. In some geolog- 
ical formations, which you see represented on the 
map of the state of New York and of the United 
States, the remains of animals of this infusorial kind, 
are found in great numbers, and it is remarkable that 
in many of these formations, many of which are 
marine rocks, their remains are precisely of the same 
kind as those which are now found in the sea that 
washes your shores. I take great pleasure in alluding 
to this, because the researches into the nature of 
these animals, by Professor Bailey, of the West-Point 
Institution, have contributed to shed new light on this 
subject, and have reflected high credit on Professor 
Bailey, and the country to which he belongs. 

I have been obliged to hurry rapidly over these 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 79 

subjects — but you see from what I have said, how 
wide they are; and you will see, as we proceed, that 
the general inferences to be drawn from them are 
important. 

If science takes hold of the plow handles and points 
it deeper into the earth, in order that the roots of 
plants may reach to a lower depth, for roots will 
grow deeper if you will let them, and the deeper they 
go, the more robust the plant and the more profit to 
the farmer ; if it accompanies us to the field and 
teaches us to put trees and plants at proper distances 
from each other, that they may have the benefit of 
fresh air, and thus bring new food in reach of their 
leaves — and how much of this sort of sustenance, they 
are able to take in — if it tells you of the causes of the 
fertility of mud banks and sea islands, and where you 
are to look for soil of the richest quantity, and how 
you should select with reference to that point — if it 
follows you into your barns and tells you how to treat 
your cattle—and what is the effect of certain treat- 
ment — to what diseases cattle are subject, and how 
they are to be prevented and cured — and if it goes 
with you into the fields, and instructs you in the nature 
of the insects that attack your crops, s.nd as to the 
means of destroying them — I put it to you to say, 
whether if science can do all this, it is to be consid- 
ered either as useless or unprofitable to the farmer ? 

Professor J. closed his kcture by adverting to the 
feeling of contempt with which ignorant persons, en- 
gaged in the humbler pursuits of life, and who are in- 
debted to chemical science for success therein, regard 



80 THE RELATIONS OF ZOOLOGY 

a knowledge of such scieDce ; inslancing, as an illus- 
tration, the case of a washerwoman who used the 
soap which chemistry had taught the mode of manu- 
facturing, who would tell you, if informed that, with 
out the aid of chemistry, she could do nothing — that 
she knew nothing of chemistry — that she washed her 
clothes as othershad done before her, who knew nothing 
of chemistry, and that she cared nothing about it. He 
remarked that this was true of a numerous class of 
farmers in the old country, who performed all their 
operations, as it were, at second hand, which they 
bad learned, perhaps, only from practical men ; and if 
one of these men were told that science had done 
much to improve his art, and might do more, and he 
should reply that he was a plain practical farmer, 
knowing nothing, and caring nothing about science ; 
gentlemen, he is an agricultural washerwoman, 
[laughter]. We have a few in England ; I do not 
know, I hope at least, that there are none of them 
here. 



LECTURE IV 



THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY TO PRACTICAL AGRI- 
CULTURE. 

Gentlemen : The lecture this evening is on the 
relations of Meteorology to Practical Agriculture, 

You recollect that when treating of the relations 
of geology to practical agriculture, I explained how 
it is that the rocks that form the solid crust of the 
globe, gradually decomposed and crumbled down, so 
as to form the materials that cover the surface, and 
from what hard material the soil is produced. I ex- 
plained that the causes of this disintegration of the 
rocks were ordinarily to be found in meteorological 
agencies ; that is, the warmth of the sun, the influence 
of rains, and peculiar kinds of atmospheric action, 
combined with the severity of frosts, and the 
alternations of cold and heat. From this, you will 
perceive that the study of meteorology is closely con- 
nected with the origin of the soils themselves, and 
with those geological phenomena which I presented 
as of great importance to the agricultural inquirer. 
But into these branches of the subject, I do not pro- 



82 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

pose to enter this evening with minuteness. I will 
merely observe, in passing, that the study of meteor- 
ology, in connection with this branch of science, is 
highly important. But I propose to treat more 
particularly of what is called climate, and of its influ- 
ences on the growth of crops, on various kinds of 
soil. 

Elements of Climate. 

The main elements of climate are the temperature 
of the air, and of the soil itself; the quantity of rain 
that falls, and the character of the prevailing winds, 
and under these three several divisions are compre- 
hended, minor branches of knowledge, each of which 
is of great consequence, and to some of which I will 
draw your attention. 

You will recollect that I explained to you, in a 
former lecture, what is called mean temperature ; 
that is, the temperature of a whole day, month, or 
year, taken on an average. To explain this matter 
fully, would require a map of the globe, which I have 
not now. I have only a map of England, which will 
serve, perhaps, to illustrate the subject sufficiently, as 
it is sufficiently extensive to show the different 
degrees of temperature in different latitudes, and 
though these differences are not so striking as they 
would be on a map of this country, yet they are 
enough so, to show the important influence which 
temperature has upon the growth of plants, and how 
decisive they are of results. If you have a map of 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 83 

the whole globe, and the ascertained mean tempera- 
tures at every place on its surface, you will find that , 
on a given latitude, there are a certain number of 
places, where the mean temperature approaches 
nearly an equality ; that is, if you add the cold 
temperature of winter with the high temperature of 
summer, throughout this latitude, you get the average 
mean temperature of that latitude. Suppose there 
are fifty different points on the same latitude all round 
the globe, where the mean temperature has been as- 
certained, and you draw a line connecting these 
places with each other ; then take another latitude, 
and draw a similar line connecting similar points, in- 
dicating another degree ot mean temperature, and so 
on, you will then have a series of lines, indicating the 
mean temperatures of different latitudes in all the 
places through which these lines pass. These are 
called isothermal lines, a word compounded of two 
Greek words, meaning equal temperature. 

You will recollect that I told you in a previous lec- 
ture, that where the mean temperature was 70^ or 72"^, 
the sugar cane thrived most luxuriantly, and yielded 
the largest returns at the least cost of labor. You see, 
then, that if you follow these lines around the globe, 
whenever you find the temperature as high as 12'^ 
you know that there you are to look for the places 
where the sugar cane thrives best, and thus knowing 
what crops growbest on a certain spot, having a certain 
mean temperature, that other circumstance being the 
same, the same crops will flourish elsewhere, under 
the same temperature. 



84 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

This is an extensive subject, and a great many ob- 
servations must necessarily be made, in all parts of the 
globe, to determine these isothermal lines, and I have 
elements enough before me to occupy the whole 
evening, without fatiguing you, were I to use them in 
illustrating the interesting points which these lines 
present. 

If you fix on two or more places, where, from 
observation, you have the temperature of the summer 
months, and another set of observations of the tem- 
perature of the winter months, and another of the 
summer and winter months, and then connect all the 
places of which the mean summer temperature is the 
same, then you will have a line varying from the 
other lines, and thus you may draw a new set of lines. 
These are called isotheral lines ; that is, lines 
indicating equal summer temperature ; and so you 
may draw lines indicating an equal winter tempera- 
ture, and thus you will have three sets of lines ; one 
indicating mean temperature, all the year ; another 
the summer, and another the winter temperature. 
Now you will perceive the application of these obser- 
vations, when I tell you that there are places where 
the mean temperature of the whole year is the same, 
and yet the temperature of the winter and of the sum- 
mer, is very different ; for instance, where the sum- 
mer is very hot, and the winter very cold ; yet the 
mean temperature of both, will be 60^^, the heat of 
summer in the one, compensating for the cold of 
winter; and in the other, the reverse. Of course, the 
climate of two such places, is very different. The 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 86 

climate of America is different from that of England ; 
and the vegetable productions which grow naturally 
in each vary accordingly. And yet the mean tem- 
perature of the two countries, is about the same, the 
difference being caused by the different mean tem- 
peratures of summer and winter in the two. Here 
then is another study — the study of these isothermal 
lines, or of the temperature of summer and winter in 
different places, and of the mean temperature of the 
year. So that the more we enter into this study, the 
more we perceive the bearing of this branch of 
science on the practical capital of the farmer. 

Another point : I have spoken thus far of the 
temperature of the air only. But this is not the only 
thing of interest to the farmer; the temperature of 
the soil itself is of equal consequence. This is a study 
into which philosophers, whose researches are con- 
fined to the crust of the globe, have entered largely. 
If you bore down into the earth to the depth of 60 
feet, and let down a thermometer into the bore, you 
will find that, in summer, the temperature at a certain 
depth, varies. It rises in summer, owing to the fact 
that the sun affects the temperature ot the earth down 
to a certain depth, and so does the cold of winter. 
The thermometer, indeed, will never remain station- 
ary, until you reach a certain depth — about 50 feet 
below the surface — there, the thermometer remains 
stationary the year through, showing that the sum- 
mer and winter do affect the temperature of the 
earth, to the depth of fifty feet. The depth at which 
the thermometer remains stationary, indicates a cer- 



86 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

ain degree of temperature of climate If at Albany, 
for instance, it were fixed at fifty feet, it would be 
fixed at that depth, one hundred years hence, as no 
doubt it was one hundred years ago. These similar 
observations made all round the globe, enable you to 
connect those places, where the temperature of the 
earth is uniform, thus showing by a line, that they 
have the same uniform temperature at this depth. 

Such observations have been made, but not so ex- 
tensively as with reference to the temperature of the 
air. But as boring to such a depth, is an expensive ope- 
ration, the observations have been, of cour&e, limited. 
Such as have been made and connected by these lines 
around the globe, are called, when connected, iso-geo- 
thermal lines. But these observations are of no great 
interest to the farmer, but it does concern him to 
know the temperature of the earth down to three or 
four feet below the surfiice. Such observations as 
these have been made, to some extent, but not so for 
as is desirable. The temperature of the first foot is 
of far more consequence than that at a greater depth, 
because the seed is put in at a shallow depth, and 
vegetates at that depth ; in the spring, and as the 
summer advances, the roots go down deeper and 
deeper. 

When I tell you that, in such a climate as this, the 
temperature rises to 100° of Fahrenheit, five feet be- 
low the surface, and to 140° half an inch below, it will 
excite, perhaps, some surprise. It certainly surprised 
me. Such of you as rear plants in gardens, or have 
read upon the subject, know something of the impor- 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 87 

tance of bottom heat, for the purpose of forcing 
plants, which it is difficult to grow, or which it is 
desirable should grow luxuriantly. There are certain 
parts of the earth, where there is a natural heat from 
beneath, as in volcanic regions and from the sun — 
which heat causes a growth of great luxuriance. In 
the neighborhood of ^Etna and Vesuvius, this bottom 
heat is most apparent, in the growth of plants. But 
of this, we, in these cold latitudes, see nothing. 

In a subsequent lecture, I shall draw your attention 
to the effect of drainage upon the warmth of the soil. 
But you v/i!l see from what I have said, the great im- 
portance of a certain degree of warmth in the soil 
where the plant is sown. 

From experiments made one year, in this neighbor- 
hood, (I know nothing of them, but I speak from the 
representation of others), upon Indian corn, which 
you know, often rots when put into the soil, it was 
found that when the temperature of the earth was 
but 45° in the spring, the seed all rotted ; but when 
planted, when the temperature was about 60°, it vege- 
tated. These facts show the great importance of 
knowing, first of all, that the temperature of the soil 
has a close relation to the operations of the farmer, 
and to the profits of his industry ; and next, that the 
study of the temperature of the earth is of great con- 
sequence in developing the various conditions of the 
soil, which are necessary to profitable farming; third- 
ly, that if any means, within the compass of art can 
be found, which will make the soil warmer than it 
otherwise would be, and which shall impart that 
6* 



88 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

warmth early in the spring, we shall have arrived at 
a method of controlling nature, as it were, which 
must lead to important results. Drainage is one of 
these modes, and has been found of great practical 
utility in making the soil warmer, at all seasons, and 
of particular utility in making the soil ready for sow- 
ing in the spring, as it enables the farmer to avoid 
losses by the seed rotting. It is specially important, 
in my country, where scarcely half the wheat sown^ 
vegetates. 

I pass on to another subject, or rather to another 
branch of this subject. I speak of the sun's rays, and 
of the warmlh that the air and earth derive from the 
sun. The rays of the sun, by the interposition of an 
instrument called a prism, can be decomposed and 
separated into several different colored rays. This 
is familiar to all. But other things have been ascer- 
tained, which are not so well known. It has been 
found that, besides the fact that the sun's rays consist 
of light of different colors, which, when mixed^ form 
a white color, that they contain three different kinds 
of rays. There is a ray of light — that you know ; 
there is a ray of heat, but the rays of heat are not 
the rays of light. On the contrary, we can separate 
the one from the other. The sunbeam contains, also^ 
a chemical ray ; so that, though colorless, it consists 
of three different kinds of existences— not matter, but 
agencies — the one being heat, another light, and the 
third a chemical agent. I shall go into this subject 
further, in a subsequent lecture, when I will show yoa 
how plants grow. At present, I shall merely glance 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 89 

at it. When a plant takes root in the ground, chemical 
changes go on ; the more numerous the parts of the 
plant, growing at the same time, the more numerous 
these chemical changes. These changes are produced 
by the agency of a chemical element of the sun- 
beams. Thus, when the plant is beginning to approach 
maturity and ripen its seeds, then it requires the aid 
of heat. The warmth of the sun is necessary to 
ripen the grain. 

(Professor J. here pointed to a diagram exhibiting 
the colors of the different rays ; the blue indicating 
the chemical ray, the yellow the ray of light, and the 
red the heating ray). But, said he, the point of con- 
sequence to the farmer, or at least the one of impor- 
tance as showing the relations of the science of light 
to the art of agriculture, is this : That these three 
agencies exist in different proportions in the sunbeam, 
in the spring, summer, and autumn. The blue, or 
chemical ray, is greater in the spring ; the light 
greater in the summer. The chemical ray is less in 
autumn, and then the heating ray predominates. It 
is enough for me to state here the results of investi- 
gation, as represented by these different colors and 
their relative lengths, and to say that, by means which 
it is unnecessary to state, the proportions of these dif- 
ferent agencies in the sunbeam vary in different sea- 
sons of the year, in order that the growing plant may 
arrive at maturity, and thus be enabled to perform 
the functions necessary to its healthy growth. But I 
cannot dwell upon this further than to say that here 
is a most interesting subject opened to us, which pro- 



90 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

mises much interest, as further developments are 
made, because it has not only been ascertained that 
these agents exist in different proportions in the 
sunbeam in different seasons of the year, but the ex- 
periments of Dr. Draper, of New York, indicate very 
clearly that the proportion of these agents vary in 
different latitudes and climates. This is in perfect 
consistency with what I have stated, that the wants 
of plants are different in different seasons ; and it may 
be well inferred, therefore, that these results are 
founded in truth. Thus, you see that this very inter- 
esting branch of study is also of great importance, 
and must have a close relation to the operations of 
the farmer. 

But you will be interested while I draw your atten- 
tion for a moment to another fact. You know the 
different changes which take place in the plant, in its 
progress to maturity, from the flower to the seed. It 
is known, that, generally, the flower of a plant has a 
higher temperature than the other parts of it. This 
is generally the case. It has been ascertained, also, 
that the darker-colored flowers absorb the heat of the 
sun's ray, more than those of a light color. Hence it 
is very probable that the colors of the flowers of 
plants, are connected with the quantity of heat which 
the flower requires to perform its functions, and that 
in ripening the grain, the color of the flower is adapt- 
ed to absorb from the sun's rays precisely the degree 
of heat which is necessary to perform its functions. 

Another point ; The influence of light on a clear 
bright day, is different from that on a dark day. 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 91 

When the grain begins to fill, a cloudy day is better 
for it than a bright one ; that is, when the sun is ob- 
scured and the temperature not very low. The num- 
ber of clear days and cloudy days in a country is one 
element of its climate, and one of those which tell on 
the rapidity with which crops grow, with which cer- 
tain profitable crops can advance, and on the period 
of the year at which they will ripen. Indian corn 
and buckwheat, for instance, are both liable to be 
touched by early frosts, and if the character of the 
year be such as to enable these crops to come early 
to maturity, they escape the danger of these early 
frosts, according to the prevalence of sunny days, and 
the absence of cloudy weather. I need not dwell on 
the subject of frosts, for all know their effects in 
spring and fall, and that to the gardener, as well as 
the farmer, and to all engaged in husbandry, these are 
matters of great importance. 

Another circumstance of climate, connected with 
low temperature, is the relative duration of the dif- 
ferent seasons, especially of winter and summer, as 
representing the whole year. The transition from 
summer to winter, and vice versa, is very sudden at 
the north, so that they have only summer and winter, 
so to speak. The relative duration of summer and 
winter has an important bearing on the rural econo- 
my, which the farmer should adopt, if he would de- 
rive profit from his labors. Where the winter is long, 
the farmer must lay up winter food for his cattle, to 
sustain them, when they cannot be turned out. Here 



92 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

you have six months, during which you must provide 
food for your cattle. In New Brunswick, the average 
duration of winter is six and a half months. 

Another way in which winter operates, has refe- 
rence to the period in which out-door labor may be 
performed. In the spring, the farmer must sow early, 
that in autumn his crop may escape early frost ; but 
if the period which intervenes between the passing off 
of the snow and the time for sowing is short, it is ob- 
vious that the farmer must not only plow early, but 
must do it very rapidly, and the shorter the time, the 
greater the force required to it. Here, therefore, is a 
serious drawback on the profits of the farmer, and 
one of great interest to him. In connection with this 
point, it is of great interest to know how far the win- 
ters of difl?erent places differ. 

One curious circumstance, perhaps, you would not 
anticipate, is this: The average length of winter at 
Frederickton, New Brunswick, which exceeds yours 
by some twenty-five days, does not appear to inter- 
fere with the produce of the land in the more northern 
climate. In the northern climate, vegetation grows 
more rapidly in spring. It is a curious fact, that, on 
examining the average products of New Brunswick, 
New York, and Ohio, the average produce of New 
Brunswick is found to be greater than that of New 
York or Ohio, though the summer is longer in both 
these states. Therefore, the former in these northern 
regions, has every encouragement to occupy every 
leisure moment in the preparation of his land, for the 
soil is not niggardly in its returns, though he must 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 93 

do more work in less time than in more southern 
countries. 

Another fact : Though the severe frosts last so long, 
they are not altogether without benefits , if the frost 
descends to the depth of three or four feet, as it does 
in the country between the St. Lawrence and the Bay 
of Fundy, the effect of warmth is such that it heaves 
up the ground, and renders it almost ready to sow 
wheat, as soon as the frost is out ; and it is a fact 
which practical men tell me, that the depth of the 
frost actually aids in preparing the land for the 
crops, and makes the work of plowing easier. Thus 
we see that Nature is sometimes far kinder to us than 
we are to ourselves, and that while she is shutting up 
land, as it were, she is preparing it, the better for use 
when the summer sun shines. So much in regard to 
temperature. 

I told you that the next element of consequence, 
was the quantity of rain that falls. On a former oc- 
casion, I described to you the condition of various 
parts of the earth, where no rains ever fall. In parts 
of Asia and Africa* no rain ever falls. Now the fall 
of rain is a matter of interest. First, in regard to 
the quantity. Secondly, the time when it falls ; and 
thirdly, in regard to the manner. 

First, as to quantity. From the observations made 
in different places, I cite a few statistics. In London, 
the annual quantity is 23 inches, that is to say, sup- 
posing all the rain that falls, is dammed in and mea- 
sured. In Edinburg, it is 24 inches ; in Liverpool, 

* See Note G— Appendix. 



94 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

34 inches ; in Manchester, 36 inches ; in Keswick, a 
very wet place, 76 inches ; in New York, 42 inches ; 
in Rochester, 39 inches ; in Worcester, 39 inches ; in 
Portland, Maine, 44 inches ; in Savannah, 55 inches ; 
in St. Domingo, 150 inches ; in Bombay, 80 inches. 
In some parts of the world, I may state, as on the 
Runn of Kutch, in India, between June and Septem- 
ber, 240 inches of rain falls; that is, during the rainy 
monsoons. You all know how important the quantity 
of rain is, to the growth of plants. Let me illustrate 
this, by reference to the statistics of my own island. 
On the west side of the island, you will have seen, 
that the quantity of rain that falls, is greater than on 
the eastern. At Edinburg, it is 24 inches ; at Lon- 
don, 23 or 24 , but on the west side, at Liverpool, it is 
34 inches ; at Manchester, 36 ; at Keswick, 76. This 
is found to be universally the fact, that more rain falls 
on the west, than on the east side ; and it is known, 
that the green crops, the potato and turnip, which re- 
quire more moisture, are more grown on the western, 
than on the eastern coast of England. The average 
of these crops, in the western part of the island, are 
nearly double the average of the same crops in the 
eastern part. Thus you see that the kind of husband- 
ry depends upon the quantity of rain that falls. 
Where no rain falls, there is of course, barrenness, 
unless certain causes come in to supply the deficiency. 
Where rain falls periodically, as on the Runn of 
Kutch, there you have a season of growth, and a sea- 
son of barrenness. Where rain falls in autumn, it 
often impedes the ripening of grain. In Iceland, 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 95 

where the temperature is high enough to ripen barley^ 
the rain comes on in autumn, to prevent it. But there 
are circumstances, which, whatever the season at 
which the rain falls, modify the kind of husbandry 
and render the soil capable of producing certain 
things, which naturally could not be grown. Suppose 
the rain to fall only in certain months; the conse- 
quence is, that evaporation, not being so great as the 
rain that falls, the land becomes saturated with water, 
and the consequences of this are well known. 

But art can do something to make such lands ca- 
pable of producing some crops which they otherwise 
could not, and that is, by drainage — an artificial 
mode of relieving land of surplus water, not carried 
off by evaporation, and which otherwise must remain 
and stagnate. Drainage is of two kinds; one is for 
the removal of springs, the water that comes from 
the earth — the other for the removal of the surface 
water which falls from the clouds, and which cannot 
be evaporated. All know that stiff clay soils require 
such drainage. In our climate, all the clay soils can 
only be made productive beyond their natural capa- 
bilities, by drainage. But there are other soils of a 
light character, such as the loamy soils, approaching 
the character of gravel and sand, which have been 
found to be improved by a thorough drainage for the 
removal of the surface water. But drainage becomes 
more or less important, not merely with reference to 
the character of the soil, but to the quantity of rain 
that foils. Take, for instance, London and Edinburg, 
New York and Rochester. The qii3.ntity of rain 



96 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

that falls ill these places, other things being equal, 
determines the degree of necessity for drainage. 
When I tell you that near Edinburg, where the rain 
is only 24 inches, it is found that an expense of £5, 
and even £8 an acre, for drainage only, is found to 
be profitable, in the removal of surface water, you 
will perceive that it is a matter well deserving the 
consideration of the practical man, who desires to 
improve his soil, whether this system of thorough 
drainage, could not be introduced with advantage in 
this country, where the rain that falls is more than in 
England. We fiad that in almost all soils, such ex- 
penditures are not only profitable, for the time being, 
but that it pays its own expense in a few years, and 
leaves the land permanently good. At Albany, you 
have 40 inches of rain, and in other places mentioned, 
you have much more, showing that in this State, at 
least, the land would be improved by this system of 
thorough drainage. 

One observation here : It would appear that the 
extreme heat of your summers ought to render drain- 
age unnecessary, but when I tell you that among the 
places with which I have had communication, by 
letter and otherwise, are Jamaica, Barbadoes, and 
Demerara, where the summers are as hot as yours 
are, and where the soils are often stiff clays, liable 
to be dried up by the heat of sfimmer, and that in 
these places where I have recommended drainage, 
the results of the experiment have been that the land 
has been improved in productiveness, and has yielded 
far greater crops than similar land, not drained. You 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 97 

will see that the removal of water from stiff clays, by 
drainage, even in climates where the summers are 
hot, and are characterised by great drought, may be 
resorted to with advantage and profit, and that, after 
all, the quantity of rain that falls is of more conse- 
quence than the heat of summer. 

In connection with this point, let me draw your 
attention to another mode, by which wet and marshy 
lands can be benefited. It does not properly come in 
here, but it will serve to show you what great results 
may be accomplished by human ingenuity, when in- 
telligently directed. (Professor J. here pointed to the 
northern part of England, to the Humber and the 
Trent Rivers, saying that through the Trent, the tide 
runs with great velocity, far up the river, carrying 
with it a very muddy water). From the Trent, a 
canal has been cut for many years, for the purpose of 
bringing this muddy water from the river into the 
interior of the country, and pouring it over the sur- 
face of the land. Thus, said he, the water is let in 
upon the land, twice every day ; as the tide retires, 
the mud is left, and in the course of six months, it 
sometimes leaves a depth of six inches or a foot of sea 
mud, the fertility of which is well known. The same 
process has been adopted on a smaller scale in differ- 
ent parts of the island, and so it has in New Bruns- 
wick. 

Another way of reclaiming land has been put to 
use in Italy. There are celebrated tracts of country, 
famous once for having been marshes. But in 
Florence, in Tuscany, there occur the most remark- 



98 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

able. It is called the Val d'Arno, and it is said to 
have been the coarse of a river which once flowed 
through the valley into the Tiber. The current being 
sluggish, the valley was once an entire marsh. Va- 
rious efforts have been made to drain it — but more 
recently a process has been adopted, which is ex- 
ceedingly beautiful. The whole valley was divided 
into square portions, considerably elevated at one 
end of the valley, and the water being made to flow 
from one of these square enclosures into another, so 
that the whole valley became gradually filled up, and 
is now converted into one of the most fertile regions 
known in Italy. The water flowing, in fact, in a 
different direction from what it did originally. Thus 
you see how, by adapting your operations to circum- 
stances, natural difficulties may be overcome and 
made conducive to profit and health. 

Among other things connected with this subject, I 
may draw your attention to fogs and mists, which 
often cause great injury to the farmer. You are ac- 
customed to consider our climate as more foggy and 
misty than yours ; but if these numbers I have given 
you are true, we have less rain than you. Whether 
we have more fogs and mists at certain seasons, I do 
not know. On the Thames and in London, fogs are 
more frequent than in other parts of England ; and pro- 
bably the ideas of our climate, formed by strangers, are 
the results of impressions drawn from visiting London 
alone, and not other parts of England. But the way we 
remove fogs and mists, except in the neighborhood of 
London, is by the removal of their causes — by drain- 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 99 

age. Not having it in our power to do as in many- 
parts of Italy, we have been obhged to remove water 
by drainage, and by this means over a large portion 
of our country, fogs and mists have disappeared. In 
Lancashire, there was a lake, which was celebrated 
for its mists, and for the agues which prevailed in the 
neighborhood. Every man nearly was affected by- 
it, who lived within the range of its influence ; and so 
notorious had this become that the farmers in other 
and more favored localities, would never hire a ser- 
vant who came from the borders of that lake ; but by- 
drainage, the land about it has been rendered as 
fruitful and healthy as any of the neighboring lands. 
So on the Tweed, a rich tract of country, the same 
disease was prevalent to a great extent, until the sys- 
tem of drainage was introduced, not merely for the 
sake of increasing the crops, but to remove these 
causes of disease. But the crops were much greater 
after drainage, and the result was, that not only the 
profits of the farmer were increased, but the ague 
and complaints of the lungs almost ceased. 

I have now explained how fogs and mists were 
caused, and how they were removed. I have ex- 
plained to you how a cold and warm current of air 
meeting, form a mist ; but how is it with the air on 
the surface of the earth? Whenever the surface is 
wet, it is continually cold. If I pour water on my 
hand, the evaporation of the water causes a percepti- 
ble sensation of cold. Now, the air, sweeping over 
marshy portions of land, becomes cool, and deposits 
water in the form of mists, and thus the injurious 



100 THE RELATIONS OF METEOROLOGY 

effects are produced, not only upon health, bat upon 
the crops, in the shape of mildew and rust. As to 
rust and mildew, they are owing to the prevalence 
of too much moisture in the air, in the shape of fogs 
and mists, and the remedy is drainage. But this is 
not uniformly the case ; because fogs come sometimes 
from large bodies of water at a distance. In New 
Brunswick, it often overspreads the country, from the 
Bay of Fundy, settling on the damp lands, and even 
on the dry. At the head of the Bay of Fundy, T am 
told that the prevalence of mists, combined with a 
very hot sun, produces very injurious effects on the 
crops. But it often happens that a farmer on one 
side of a road suffers from the negligence of his neigh- 
bor on the other side ; he perhaps drains his land, 
while his neighbor neglects his. Now, the farmer 
who understands the advantage of draining, could 
well afford to drain his neighbor's land at his own ex- 
pense, as the fogs from the wet land in the neighbor- 
hood are often the cause of great injury to the crops 
on lands, which have themselves been thoroughly 
drained. 

There are other topics connected with this subject, 
but I cannot touch upon them now ; but you will see 
from what I have already said, that in this subject ol 
meteorology, are involved many different branches ol 
study, every one of which might occupy the re- 
searches of one man for many years, and every one 
of which has a bearing on practical agriculture, and 
the profit of it. And though the farmer may not see 
the bearing of these researches immediately, yet re- 



TO PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. 101 

suits are always arrived at, which are capable of a 
direct and practical application to the farmer's art, 
and when the range of the sciences shall be still fur- 
ther extended, we can then extract from them all a 
system of principles, by which a practical and sound 
system of agriculture can be established. 



LECTURE V, 



"(This Lecture was delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Society.) 

THE RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL AND ITS 
PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 

The Hon. John A. King, President of the State 
Agricultural Society, called to order, and introduced 
to the Society Professor Johnston, who addressed the 
Society as follows : — 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : As there are pre- 
sent this evening a number of persons who were not 
in attendance at my former lectures, perhaps you will 
excuse me for mentioning, in order that the object of' 
this course of lectures may be understood, that the 
purpose in view has been to present a general idea of 
the relations which science bears to practical Agri- 
culture—not, of course entering into those details 
which the wide field presents — but dwelling only on 
those general aspects which hold a striking relation 
to this most important of all arts. Such of you as 
were at Syracuse, may recollect that I then men- 
tioned that I might select illustrations of the applica- 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVExMENT. 103 

tions of science to agriculture, and present them to 
you on the occasion of your annual meeting. As that 
address is now in your hands, you may readily ascer- 
tain how far this purpose has been carried out. The 
first of these lectures was on the Relations of Physi- 
cal Geography to Agriculture ; the second on the Re- 
lations of Geology to Agriculture ; the third on the 
Relations of Botany and Zoology to Agriculture, and 
the last, on the Relations of Meteorology to Agricul- 
ture. I may, perhaps, add to what I have said, that 
each of these lectures, being on a separate subject, is 
entire and complete in itself, and therefore contains 
in itself all the elements necessary to a comprehension 
of the general bearings of each subject to practical 
agriculture. Thus this lecture, which has reference 
to the practical improvement of soils, will not draw 
on previous lectures. 

Gentlemen, in drawing your attention to the rela- 
tions which geology bears to agriculture, I pointed to 
this map of your own State, and showed you the dif- 
ferent kinds of rocks represented by different colors, 
of which the surface is composed, and I explained the 
process by which the various kinds of soil were 
formed ; that is, by the crumbling down of rocks, of 
different formations, and that these materials consti- 
tuted the chief ingredient in all soils. By this crum- 
bling down of the rock, a loose material is produced, 
which formed, I would say, a substratum, in which 
the seeds of plants might take root and vegetate. 
These plants coming to maturity and dying, and 
others succeeding them to mature and die, with the 



104 relatjons of chemistry to the soil 

insects and animals which feed upon them, and the 
remains of all being mixed up with the rocks in a dis- 
integrated state. These form what we call soil, on 
which the labor of man is expended and crops are 
grown. Hence the origin of soils is, first, the solid 
rock; and second, the remains of vegetables and ani- 
mals, which, while they enrich the soil, also give to 
soils that variety of character which exists. 

Chemical Relations of Soils. 

In considering the quality of soils, there is one 
point to which it is necessary to draw your attention ; 
that is, to the chemical relations of soils. I formerly 
drew your attention, and now do so again, to the 
fact that if you take the same kind of matter, exactly, 
you may convert it, without changing its chemical 
composition, from one mechanical condition to an- 
other. Thus, this piece of plastic clay, which would 
be difficult to till, may be converted into the hard, 
solid brick, which, if pounded out by artificial means, 
or crumbled down by atmospheric action, becomes a 
soil very easily cultivated. This mechanical charac- 
ter of the soil very much controls the kind of plants 
that will naturally grow on it. On very light lands, 
rye, of all grains, grows best ; and of all food for cat- 
tle, spurry grows best on light, sandy soils. In Europe, 
it is considered an exceedingly milk-producing food 
for the cow. On loamy and gravelly soils, you know, 
barley is a kind of grain that grows best ; turnips and 
Indian corn also do well on such soils. In fact, bar- 
ley could not grow on a stiff' clay, such as I have ex- 
hibited here ; but it would grow well on the brick 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 105 

that is made of it, pounded up, and forming a loose 
and open soil. But on heavy, clay lands, wheat, 
clover, and grass grow most luxuriantly ; and I 
showed you, the other night, that a stiff clay soil, 
though it would not pay for cultivation, will pay well 
if devoted to pasturage. 

These physical characters of soils are of great con- 
sequence ; and whilst I shall show you that the chemi- 
cal composition has much to do with their fertility, 
and that after a soil is exhausted, and the art of man 
is brought to restore it, success depends greatly on a 
knowledge of this chemical composition, yet, I shall 
show you that whilst a knowledge of chemistry is 
important, the physical or mechanical condition of the 
soil is not to be slighted, and indeed is the first thing 
to be regarded, and is, after all, considered more es- 
sential than that which we cannot see, and for the 
most part know nothing of. 

Composition of Soils. 
T pass this over, and turn now to the chemical com- 
position of soils. What does this piece of plastic clay 
contain, and what this hard brick? Both contain the 
same matter. In order to obtain that knowledge 
which shall be useful to us, as practical men, in tilling 
the soil, we must begin with some soil of known value 
and fertility, and which is known to produce good 
crops in ordinary seasons, and with ordinary treat- 
ment. When such a soil is taken, (and there are 
many such here, particularly in the virgin soils of the 
west,) we find it to possess a great variety of combi- 
nations. Before going further, I will repeat what I 
ave said before, that all rocks consist of one or more 



106 



RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 



of three kinds of matter — limestone, sandstone, and 
clay, or we have mixtures of them. This general 
view enables us to form an opinion of the physical 
character of soils at once. Sandstone gives a light, 
open soil ; limestone, also ; and clay, generally a stiff 
soil. Sometimes the clay is hardened, and the soil 
assumes a different character, like brick. But when 
you come to put these soils in the hands of the chem- 
ist, ([ mean these virgin, pure soils, which grow large 
crops, with little aid from labor,) the chemist is not 
satisfied with the knowledge of the fact that they 
contain lime, sand, or clay, for he knows that clay it- 
self is a complex substance, before he submits it to 
chemical analysis. He finds, as might be expected, 
that he extracts from soils these various substances, 
exhibited in this table : 



COMPOSITION OF SOILS OF DIFFERENT FERTILITY. 





Fertile with- 


Fertile with 


Barren. 




out manure. 


manure. 




Organic matter, 


97 


50 


40 


Silica, 


648 


833 


778 


Alumina, 


57 


61 


91 


Lime, 


69 


18 


4 


Magnesia, 


8 


8 


1 


Oxide of iron, 


61 


30 


81 


Oxide of manganese, 


1 


3 


trace. 


Potash, 


2 


trace. 


(( 


Soda, 


4 


(( 


i( 


Chlorine, 


2 


(( 


a 


Sulphuric acid. 


2 


1 


li 


Phosphoric acid, 


4 


2 


a 


Carbonic acid, 


40 


4 


a 


Loss, 


15 





6 




1,000 


1,000 


1,000 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 107 

But first of all, let me draw your attention to a 
fact. If I take a match and ignite it, and allow it to 
burn away, you will find that a small portion remains 
behind after the greater part is burnt away. The 
part that remains is the wood ash. This is the result 
if you burn any vegetable substance whatever, and as 
in soils there is both vegetable and animal matter, if 
you burn it, a portion of it is burned away ; but that 
portion always leaves a quantity of ash. But this 
matter will be more fully explained at our next meet- 
ing. The part that burns away is called the or- 
ganic part, or organic matter ; and the part that is 
not burnt, consists first of silica, which means flint, 
and then alumina ; that is, the substance which gives 
tenacity to the clay. If I dissolve clay in water, and 
into that pour hartshorn (aqua ammonia,) it immediate- 
ly becomes milky, and a white substance is precipi- 
tated, called alumina. It exists largely in clay, and 
is what gives its tenacity. 

The soil also is found to contain lime, magnesia, 
oxide of iron, potash, soda, chlorine, which is a kind 
of gas of a greenish color, having a peculiarly strong 
odor and very heavy, and in this respect distinguish- 
able from common air ; a taper will burn in it, but 
will give but little light ; it burns red, smokes, and 
soon goes out ; it is so heavy that it can be poured 
from one vessel into another. This gas possesses many 
properties, but it is quite enough to know, at present, 
how to distinguish it from other gases or air. It may 
strike you as curious, that this gas exists in the soil, 
and chiefly in the form of common salt; indeed, 



108 RELATIONS OP CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 

every ten pounds of salt, contains about six pounds oi 
this gas. Sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid, also 
form parts of the soil. Let me draw your attention 
to the fact that, if you ignite a lucifer match, it emits 
a peculiar odor ; that is the odor of phosphorus. 
When the match is first lighted, you perceive a white 
smoke ; that is phosphoric acid. Carbonic acid also 
exists in the soil, but I will not dwell upon that now, 
as I shall speak of it in my next lecture. 

The soil, therefore, when chemically analysed, is 
found to contain many other substances than sand, 
lime, and clay, and enables us to enter into the minu- 
test kind of reasoning, as to the functions of the soil, 
in relation to the plant, and how the soil is to be im- 
proved. It is of great consequence to understand 
this composition of soils, and any one, who wishes to 
know how to manage the soil intelligently, should at- 
tend to many things beside the substances it con- 
tains. You will see by the preceding table, that 
1,000 parts of a given soil contain 648 parts of silica, 
57 parts of alumina, and 59 of lime ; that is to say, 
although all these things are present in a fertile soil, 
they are not so, in the same proportions, but that they 
vary in a certain ratio, in the most fertile soils. 

Another conclusion: We find that other substances 
exist in the very smallest quantity. I shall have oc- 
casion at our next meeting to show how important 
these substances are to the existence of vegetable 
and animal life. Though they exist in small propor- 
tions, yet that is not to be the measure of their value 
nor the necessity to the growth of plants. The im- 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 109 

portance of these substances is not measured by the 
numbers in the table, because their presence in small 
quantities is just as necessary, as that of those sub- 
stances which exist in larger proportions. If I have 
the small finger and thumb, I have a hand that is not 
altogether useless ; but to make a complete and useful 
member, I must have all — the smaller as well as the 
larger parts of the hand. The same parallel exists 
in regard to the soil. All the ingredients must 
be present, the smaller as well as the larger, to 
make the soil ; but though all these ingredients are 
necessary, and though every soil which grows good 
crops, either naturally or by art, must contain them 
all, I shall show you that it is not necessary that they 
should all be present in these precise proportions. It 
is enough to say now, that every fertile soil contains 
them all. 

One step further : If I take specimens of several 
fertile soils, one from America, one from Asia, and 
another from Europe, and analyse all of them, I find 
every one of these ingredients in them ; but no two 
of them contain any one of the substances present in 
all, in the same proportion. I exhibit here, (pointing 
to a diagram.) the composition of the soil on the plains 
of Athens.* You will see that it contains 38 per cent, 
of the carbonate of lime, or nearly four-fifths of the 
entire soil. Here lime consiitutes only 59 parts in 1,000 
of the soil. The plains of Athens are celebrated for 
their fertility ; this, then, is an illustration of the fact, 

* See Note H— Appendix. 



110 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 

that a fertile soil may contain all these things, yet 
that two, equally fertile, may contain them in different 
proportions. 

One step further : Soil of the same degree of fer- 
tility, may contain different proportions of those in- 
gredients, but it may happen, that one of these sub- 
stances is present in large quantity, and that may be 
injurious to the soil. Soda and chlorine form common 
salt. Those who have examined the soils on salt 
marshes on the borders of the sea, know that common 
salt abounds in those soils, and in such large quantities 
that crops cannot grow upon them.* The soils re- 
claimed from the sea, as on the Bay of Fundy, are 
found to be loaded with salt, so that, at first, they do 
not produce even grass — the seeds do not come up— - 
but after a time, the salt being washed out by the 
rains, the seeds grow. This illustration is in point, 
and shows how the presence of this substance in large 
quantities, instead of enriching the soil, makes it 
worthless. If I could draw your attention to many 
things that press upon me, I might ask, why, in all 
fruitful soils, we find these things in small quantities, 
and why it has been so ordered by nature, that, where 
saline matters existed once in large quantities, and 
contributed to your use and mine, that the rains from 
the heavens should be the means of carrying off these 
things, present in too large quantities, and the pre- 
sence of which precluded the growth of crops which 
sustain human life ? 

* See Note I — Appendix. 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. Ill 

One step further: There are soils, not of this fruit- 
ful character, some of which will not grow crops at 
all, or not enough to pay the cost of tilling them. 
There are other soils, again, which, with ordinary- 
treatment, grow good crops. We have soils which 
are fertile, others that are barren, and others again, 
though naturally fertile, require proper treatment to 
make them productive. In the little catechism which I 
have written, and which has been republished in this 
country, with an introduction by Professor Norton, 
you will find a tabular statement of the composition 
of these three kinds of soils.* 

There is a soil, (pointing to the table,) which lacks 
three things — soda, potash, and chlorine. You see, 
also, that here are three things of which a trace only 
could be found in a certain soil. If I were to ask you 
how you would make that soil chemically equal to 
that in the first column, where the three are present, 
you would say, at once, put in the three things that 
are wanting, and thus make up the deficient num- 
bers. That is common sense. To make the two soils 
chemically equal, you have only to add these things 
that are wanting, in the proper proportions. ]N*ow 
manure adds these ingredients. 

Here is another soil which is barren, (pointing to 
the table). You see here that no less than six sub- 
stances are missing — half the whole number — potash, 
soda, chlorine, sulphuric, phosphoric, and carbonic 
acids: This is a large gap ; and ordinary manuring 

* See Note J — x\ppendix. 



112 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 

will not make it grow good crops, as it would not re- 
store the chemical agents present in other soils. You 
perceive also that a large proportion of the soil con- 
sists of oxide of iron — 81 parts in 1,000. This illus- 
trates the fact that certain things may be present in 
too large quantities. I could point you to many 
places in England where this is the case. It is a nox- 
ious substance, which creeps in under the soil, form- 
ing a hard pan, lying between the under and upper 
soil, and the roots of plants cannot penetrate it. If 
present in such quantities, it presents a great difficulty 
because it is necessary to remove the excess. Where 
the soil is overcharged with salt, rains will wash 
it out ; but this is not affected by them. Nature does 
much for us, however, by carrying it down below the 
surface, and thus points out the way which we must 
take to remove it, when necessary. Thus, the bar- 
renness of a soil may arise either from its not contain- 
ing the proper substances, or from containing some of 
them in too large quantities. 

Mechanical Functions of Soils. 

What are the purposes served by the substance 
of the soil ? I do not mean to enter fully into this 
matter to-night, for it would lead me into too wide a 
field ; but you know a common purpose for which 
soils are necessary to the growth of plants. It is il- 
lustrated by putting a piece of wood into a piece of 
clay, it forms a basis in which the plant may anchor 
itself and maintain an upright position. That is an 
important function of soils, though it be only mechani- 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 113 

cal. If a plant, like barley, tends to go down into the 
earth, the soil must be open. So with other plants, 
like wheat, which, however, requires a stiffer soil. 
This is the first function of soils — a mechanic function 
entirely. But there are others; generally they feed 
the plant. This I shall illustrate particularly at our 
next meeting. But I will now call your attention to 
the fact, that, if you burn wood or other vegetable 
matter, the ash will remain ; that is, the inorganic part. 
The part that burns is the organic part. The inor- 
ganic portion, it is the function of the soil to supply. 

Another function of the soil is, that it not only fixes 
and feeds, but carries in food to the plant. This flint 
will not dissolve in water, but if I take potash and re- 
duce the flint to powder and put it in, I can dissolve 
it in the potash, and when dissolved, it looks as clear 
as water ; but it will contain the flint in solution. I 
will show you that, by a mechanical contrivance of 
this sort, the plant actually acquires and contains 
a quantity of flint, and that being insoluble in 
water, is by the agency of potash, carried up into the 
plant and left there. This potash makes the silica 
soluble. It serves as a car to carry in the silica to 
the plant, but there are things in the soil which carry 
into the plant those substances which otherwise they 
could not get, and leaves them there. 

Exhaustion of Soils. 

These are the principal functions of the soil. At 
our next meeting I will describe to you others, which 



114 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 

will become more intelligible as 1 open upon the com- 
position of plants. But on the subject, allow me one 
more observation. Take a fertile soil, however rich, and 
suppose it to grow crops for thirty or even sixty 
years ; a time will come when it will not produce 
crops. Every farmer knows that, and he knows also 
how much the richness of the soil is abused. This is 
called exhaustion; and the tables before you illus- 
trate what it means. Suppose a soil, having the 
composition of that in the first column, will grow crops 
without manure. Suppose one of the kind in the 
second, will grow crops with manure ; but that they 
have become barren by a particular course of crop- 
ping, and you know that where tobacco, cotton, and 
sugar are cultivated, great tracts of country have be- 
come exhausted. There is also what is called general 
and special exhaustion. But this subject I shall advert 
to more particularly when I treat of the application of 
chemistry to manures. If I take away phosphoric acid 
and potash from a soil, it will produce no crop. If there 
were any process by which I could totally remove the 
phosphoric acid, the soil would be reduced to perfect 
barrenness. That would be called special exhaustion. 
The loss could be repaired, as general exhaustion is, 
by the addition of manures ; but the addition of sub- 
stances that contain the one thing only, or some other 
thing, is the surest way to give the plants their sup- 
ply. This subject of special exhaustion will be of 
use bye-and-bye, when I consider how soils may be 
chemically improved. 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 115 

Mechanical Improvement of Soils. 

There are two modes of improving soils. I have 
spoken of the composition of soils. You see how they 
vary, and what differences there are in the qualities of 
soils, and what it is that constitutes equality of soil, 
and what the relation between these and the chemical 
composition of soils. But how are soils to be improved ? 
There are two methods, the mechanical and the chem- 
ical. Of the mechanical method, I shall now speak, 
and of the chemical in my last lecture. Among the 
various mechanical methods of improvement, there 
are three principal kinds. The first is deep plowing ; 
that, in almost all cases, is found to be important and 
profitable. In all countries where I have been, in all 
parts of Europe which I have visited, experience has 
shown that the soil generally is not plowed to a great 
depth, three, four, or five inches is almost the maximum 
depth of exhaustion. It is very often the case, that 
persons exhaust land, until they can raise no more 
crops, and are tlien compelled to leave. The person 
who succeeds them, seeing the system of tillage that 
has been practised, instead of adopting the former 
system of shallow plowing, goes down deeper and 
turns up a new soil altogether. Very likely in this 
new soil, are found accumulated the materials which 
the other soil once contained. The manure that has 
been put on and accumulated below is turned up, and 
the new comer gets, perhaps, not only a good virgin 
soil, but much of the money that the old farmer has 
buried there. This is no hypothetical case. If it were, 



116 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL , 

I would not state it, for speculation and hypothesis 
are good for nothing. In the neighborhood of Edin- 
burg, there are farmers of the greatest skill, and who 
make a great deal of money ; and as a general rule, 
you may judge of the skill of a farmer by the number 
of sovereigns that he has pocketed at the end of the 
year; it is a very good test. One of. these farmers, 
after hearing one of my lectures, in explanation of this 
simple principle, told me, that though he lived so near 
Edinburg, the thing had never occurred to him before, 
nor had he ever heard of it ; and he immediately went 
to work to carry out the principle, and by plowing 
down, he had brought to the surface a fresh soil, and 
was then growing luxuriant crops, where he had 
thought the land entirely exhausted. Therefore, it is 
quite true, that, in the under, or subsoil, there accumu- 
lates many substances which have drained through 
from the upper soil, which make it fully as rich as the 
upper soil once was, and that the farmer takes the 
cheapest steps to reclaim poor land, exhausted by 
severe cropping, who plows deep. 

This must be sufficient to show the value of the 
subsoil, when turned up and mixed with the upper. 
I need not dwell on this ; but 1 have this remark to 
make. It happens sometimes that various substances 
accumulate beneath, which are injurious to the plant, 
and in order that they may not injure the upper soil, 
it is not always advisable to bring them up. There 
are districts in my country, where the subsoil is a 
white clay, which is so barren, that, if brought up, it 
might destroy the upper soil, and therefore it is care- 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 117 

fully avoided. This is the case in many parts of the 
v^^orld. It is quite proper not to do so ; but not an 
unfrequent resort with us, as a means of deepening 
the soil, where the subsoil is impervious or noxious, is 
to cut it through, so that the water sinks, and as it 
sinks below the level of the soil, the rain falls, filling up 
all the pores in the soil to a certain point, which, with 
the fresh air, effects a chemical action on these sub- 
stances, changes them chemically, and gives them 
either a nourishing quality, or modifies the subsoil, 
so that when brought up, it will not be injurious, or 
noxious to plants. 

This is the object of subsoil plowing ; this is com- 
mon in England, after draining in stiff clay soils. But 
the practice is also adopted where the land has been 
long drained. In Scotland, the farmers plow from 
seven to twenty inches deep, and experience has 
shown that lands thus treated, not only retain every- 
thing put on them in the form of manure, but are 
capable of growing crops for a longer time without 
exhaustion, than if they did not plow so deep. 

Thorough Drainage. 

Another mode, besides deep plowing and subsoil- 
ing, is called ^' thorough drainage." I have spoken of 
thorough drainage,as applied to large areas ; also of the 
drainage for the removal of springs. The drainage of 
lakes is going on in Sweden on a large scale, and that 
of springs in Scotland ; but thorough drainage is only 
now begun, although probably thirty millions of money 
have been already expended in it. 



118 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 

There are several questions in regard to drainage 
which are important. What are the effects of drain- 
age on land, and how are these effects brought about? 
How does this system of drainage affect the profits of 
the farmer, and in what way does drainage pay him? 
The 1st effect of drainage, (for I cannot dwell upon 
the effects, but must put them down succinctly,) is to 
carry ofl^all the stagnant or surface water; 2d. it re- 
lieves land of water where it accumulates below, by 
the filtration of the rain through the surface ; 3d, it 
causes the rains, instead of running over and washing 
the land, to descend where it falls, and this is the 
perfection of thorough drainage ; 4th, as the rain 
sinks into the soil, it carries with it a continual supply 
of fresh air, and thus administers new doses of air to 
the substance of the soil ; 5th, it makes stiff* soils 
more crumbling, so that this kind of soil, instead of 
being hard to work after drainage, requires but half 
the force to plow it ; 6th, it makes the soil warmer. 

You remember that I told you, that evaporation 
cools the surface ; of course, if the surplus water is 
carried oflf by drainage, the soil is warmer. Then it 
also enables the farmer to proceed to till his land 
much sooner after the rains fall, and thus get ahead 
of others who do not drain their lands. So in the 
spring and autumn, in the open weather, he who 
drains his land has great advantage. And there is 
another advantage ; it benefits his neighbor as well 
as himself, keeping the mists and fogs of his own land 
from that of his neighbor, while the man who neglects 
this, injures his neighbor by the converse process. 



AND ITS rRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 119 

Another point to which I have alluded, and at which 
I will glance now, is, that by this means, you compel 
nature to do the artificial work of taking out from the 
soil what is injurious to it, much more cheaply than 
it could otherwise be done. 

I have spoken of the importance of the healthiness 
of a climate. Among the means of improving lands, 
that of drainage has been attended with one remarka- 
ble result, in contributing to human happiness. It 
happens that drainage, while it has improved the soil, 
has been the means of improving the health of large 
districts, a result which every benevolent man must 
contemplate with high satisfaction. Drainage is at- 
tended not only with these good effects, but it gives 
the farmer larger, surer, and more valuable crops. 
Land that would once only grow oats has in this way 
been made to grow wheat. Crops that were uncer- 
tain, have been made certain, and the product doubled 
in quantity. 

On what land does it do this ? On wet lands, no 
doubt ; but when 1 tell you that it does so not only on 
wet lands, but on lands liable to be burnt up with the 
sun in summer, it may excite surprise. I have a sug- 
gestion to make in regard to lands thus liable to be 
burnt up ; but of course, in making the suggesstion, I 
do not intend that you shall go immediately to do it 
on a large scale but that you should try the experi- 
ment on a small scale. But it is a fact, that, on such 
land as I have described, thorough drainage has been 
found the most beneficial of all methods of imiprove- 
ment. In this neighborhood, you have sandy plains, 



120 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 

and you have other stiff clay land. Now, in summer, 
the sandy land bears the extreme heat better than 
loam, and the loam belter than clay ; that is, the soil 
which is most open, is least acted on by the sun. This 
is the case in the lands on the plains of Athens, of 
which I have spoken, w4iich is liable to be burnt up 
by the sun. 

Now, if we consider the several causes by which 
this drought is produced, and how drainage affects it, 
you will see on what this experiment is founded. If 
the soil is merely burnt up by drought, and you sup- 
pose the roots to descend only to the depth of about 
three inches, it is obvious that the heat of summer 
dries up the land to the roots. But if by drainage, 
you open up the soil three feet deep, so that the rain, 
instead of flowing off the surface, descends through 
the soil, thus made pervious to it, the roots will grow 
deeper, and while the upper surface is dry, the 
drought does not reach the roots, which are thus 
enabled to live longer than they otherwise would. 
But there is another singular circumstance with refer- 
ence to soil that contain saline matter ; potash is 
saline matter. The water with which it is saturated, 
comes to the surface and evaporates ; and this sub- 
stance, which is held in solution, is left on the surface 
and kills the soil. Professor J. here stated that he 
had sent him a specimen of the soil from the plains of 
Athens, for his examination and advice. On these 
plains, the grass grows luxuriantly in the spring ; but 
as the sun grows more scorching, it gradually withers 
and dies. Professor J. said, that, knowing the character 



AND ITS PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. 121 

of the rocks in that region, and that the sudden check 
to vegetation, w^as the results of the salt held in solu- 
tion in the soil, and left upon the surface by evapora- 
tion, the remedy w^as simple and easy ; and that was 
drainage and plowing. So that, when the rain brought 
down the salt from the heights, it would also run 
away with it, and not remain in the soil. Thus, you 
see, that the practice of draining, has been found to 
succeed, where it might have been least expected ; 
and that it is an experiment well worth trying. I am 
sorry to detain you so long, but you will excuse me 
if I occupy a few moments, in answering the question, 
Will drainage do in New York? Will it pay ? I do 
not speak of this nor that county, for I believe a discus- 
sion of this question has already taken place, and that 
a great deal is to found on the subject, in your volumes 
of Transactions. It is a discussion highly creditable 
in itself, and from which I infer that you have confi- 
dence that it can be applied with profit, to certain 
parts of your State ; but some general considerations, 
may be of use. The quantity of rain that falls, deter- 
mines the quantity that remains. The quantity in 
New York, is much greater than in Great Britain ; 
yet we find in Great Britain, that it is not only neces- 
sary, but profitable. Now, the first question is, as to 
the quantity of rain that falls. Without any other 
data, I should say, that the quantity here, renders it 
probable, that drainage would do here. Knowing as 
I do, the profit of drainage, where there are but 24 
inches of rain, I infer that where there are 40 inches, 
thorough drainage must also be profitable. 

The way in which rain falls, is also important, and 



122 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE SOIL 

how many rainy days there are in a year. I did not 
anticipate that 1 should be drawn into this point, and 
cannot tell the number of rainy days in New Bruns- 
wick. During four months, spent among the practi- 
cal agriculturists there, and after a thorough canvass- 
ing of the whole subject, I am satisfied that thorough 
drainage, though expensive, can be safely recommend- 
ed. In St. Johns, where it rains most, there are 74 
rainy days in a year ; in New York, 111 ; in Roches- 
ter, 115. Here is another argument which strength- 
ens the probability that thorough drainage might be 
resorted to with profit. I do not recommend it, nor 
do I want you to adopt my opinions because I state 
them here. It was my duty to go into every county 
in England and Scotland, with a view to this subject. 
I conversed with the most experienced, practical men, 
in whose way I was thrown. The results are what I 
now tell you; that drainage has been found effectual 
in a country where they have less rain than you ; 
where the soil is not stronger, nor heavier than yours, 
and where the number of rainy days is not greater 
than at the places I have mentioned in your State. 
This being so, whatever opinions you or I may enter- 
tain, the inference is irresistible, that the system may 
be tried with eminent advantage to the practical far- 
mer ; and I would say that there is a probability that 
thorough drainage may be the means of gradually 
improving your soils. I think it is worth while seri- 
ously to consider, whether you may not turn it to 
your own individual advantage, and thus contribute 
to the wealth of all. 



LECTURE VT. 



RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY TO THE PLANT, 
AND THE MODES OF PROMOTING ITS GROWTH. 

Gentlemen : There is one aspect in which the art 
of farming seems exceedingly simple. If you look at 
the procedure of one of those who cultivates the rich 
land of the Genesee Valley, which is a rich clay, 
mixed up with a calcareous gravel, you see the rou- 
tine which he pursues in the alternation of his crops, 
and you observe that he pursues this course regularly 
every third year ; and you may naturally infer that 
this is a simple art, requiring no mental exertion to 
carry on all its details. It is because this art appears 
so simple, that farmers themselves are unwilling to 
believe that there are any difficulties connected with 
it ; that it has been generally supposed very little 
knowledge is necessary to practise such an art ; that 
it needs very little intellect or intelligence, and that 
if a man is fit for nothing else, he has brains enough 
for this. Beside the obvious effect which this idea 
has upon the agricultural community itself, it has its 
effect also in lowering the character of the agricultu- 



124 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

ral body in the estimation of the other professions. 
Now, if the agricultural body has reasons to complain 
of the estimation in which they are held in other quar- 
ters, (and it prevails among us, and everywhere,) it 
appears to me that these persons themselves, that is, 
the class of agriculturists who refuse to believe that 
there is any difficulty in this art, such as I have de- 
scribed, are themselves to blame for a state of things 
of which they complain. Those are really the friends 
of the agriculturist, who show that this department 
of art can be made more certain in its results, and 
more lucrative by the application of it to the various 
branches of natural knowledge ; and that he is indeed 
the friend of the farmer, who seeks to bring to bear 
upon it the results of scientific research, and show 
the world that there is really something complicated 
in this apparently simple art. 

I have been led to these remarks in consequence of 
having reached that stage in my progress which 
brings this most prominently in view ; that is, the re- 
lations of the soil to the science of chemistry. You 
will recollect I showed you at our last meeting, thai 
the soil is a complicated material, containing a great 
many substances, in different proportions, and or 
which proportions the quality of the soil depends 
You will recollect that I showed you that the resul; 
of chemical research was the development of the fac; 
that all fertile soils contained a certain number o 
certain things ; and now I come to show you that al 
fertile soils do and must contain them, and that if cer- 
tain of these things are wanting, no soil can be fer • 



TO THE PLANT. 125 

tile. To show the necessity of this, I must bring 
under your notice the composition of the plant. 

I explained to you at our last meeting, that if I take 
a vegetable substance, and burn it, nearly the whole 
of it burns away, leaving but a small quantity. I ad- 
vert to this, to show you that the same thing is true 
of the soil — as part of the soil burns away, and a part 
of every plant — but a certain quantity of each is left 
behind. Both contain a certain quantity of combusti- 
ble and incombustible matter. In both, the first is or- 
ganic, the second inorganic, or mineral matter. But 
they differ in this, that the part of the soil that burns 
away, is very small compared w^ith the whole mass, 
while in a plant, the converse is the case ; the largest 
portion of the plant burns away ; so much greater is 
the combustible portion of it. (Professor J. here 
pointed to a table showing the different quantities of 
ash left after burning different vegetable substances, 
wood, wheat, straw, hay, tobacco, &c.) Thus you 
perceive, said he, that in the case of the plant, first, 
the quantity of mineral or incombustible matter is less 
than in the soil ; and second, that the quantity of com- 
bustible or organic matter is greater. Now, as the 
plant consists so largely of combustible matter, in or- 
der that we may know something of it, I must make 
you acquainted with some substances of which I have 
not yet spoken, as it will be necessary to illustrate 
not only what I have to say to-night, but at our next 
meeting. The part of a plant that burns away, con- 
tains six different things, in different proportions — 
one or two of them in large proportion. This, (hold- 



126 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

ing up a piece of it,) is common wood charcoal. If 
wood is ignited and closed from the access of air, it 
becomes charcoal. It contains all the mineral or in- 
combustible matter of the plant. This charcoal, there- 
fore, is a material representation of carbon. There 
are various forms of carbon, the diamond is one. 
But carbon is one of four or five other substances, 
which constitute the combustible or organic portion 
of plants, and forms far the largest portion of it. 
Another substance is oxygen ; a third, hydrogen ; a 
fourth, nitrogen ; a fifth, sulphur ; a sixth, phosphorus. 

Take any one plant, and the part that burns away 
contains these six different elements ; but there are 
certain plants that do not contain all of them. Oxy- 
gen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, are three difTerent kinds 
of air. Here are three bottles containing these dif- 
ferent kinds of air. There is no apparent difference 
in point of color, nor have they any smell ; you can- 
not distinguish them by these senses. But a very 
simple implement enables us to do so. This little ta- 
per serves the purpose of a new sense to us. I do 
not know which of these contains hydrogen, which 
oxygen, nor which nitrogen, but this lighted taper 
will soon tell me. 

(Professor J. here put the taper into the bottle con- 
taining nitrogen, and it was extinguished ; he then 
re-lighted it, and put it into another, that containing 
oxygen, and it burned brightly; next, he put it into 
the third, containing hydrogen, and there was a slight 
explosion, which put out the taper, leaving, however, 
the snufF, which ignited again when it was withdrawn — 



TO THi: I'LANT. 127 

— the gas itself burning — and which ignited also, 
when placed in the oxygerj). This, then, said he, 
enables me to distinguish these three gases. This, 
in which the taper kindles and burns brightly, and re- 
kindles, is oxygen ;ahis, which takes fire itself, is hy- 
drogen ; this, which extinguishes the taper, is nitro- 
gen. These three substances, hydrogen, oxygen, and 
nitrogen exist in plants, in different proportions, not 
in the shape of air, but in a solid form. We cannot 
imitate it ; but they do assume this form naturally. 
Sulphur, you know, exists in small quantities in plants, 
and phosphorus in a still smaller quantity. Now, 
these substances compose the organic part of plants, 
or that part which burns away. But where does the 
plant get these things of which it consists so largely ? 
The carbon comes partly from the air, and partly 
from the soil ; oxygen partly from the air and soil ; 
hydrogen mostly from the soil ; nitrogen altogether 
from the soil ; sulphur and phosphorus, altogether 
from the soil. Oxygen and hydrogen compose water, 
and the plant gets them either from the rain or from 
the water in the soil ; carbon it gets partly from the 
air, and partly from the soil. Now, that you may un- 
derstand how it is that plants deriv^e these things from 
the air and soil, I must make you acquainted with an- 
other substance. 

If I take a piece of limestone, reduce it to powder, 
put it into a vessel, pour on it first a little water, and 
then an acid, as nitric acid, it will boil up, or effer- 
vesce. This boiling up, or effervescence, is produced 
by the evolution of a kind of air, which produces 



128 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

these bubbles. In this kind of air, the taper will be 
extinguished. It therefore corresponds in this par- 
ticular, with the gas called nitrogen, in one of these 
bottles. How are we to distinguish between these 
two gases ? It is in this way : If 1 undertake to pour 
the nitrogen into this glass, I cannot do it; if I under- 
take to pour it on this candle, it has no effect upon it ; 
but if I take the gas which produces this efferves- 
cence, and pour it into the glasSy I can fill it, and 
though the glass appears to be empty, it will be found 
to be full of it; for if I put the taper into it, the blaze 
will be immediately extinguished. There is, there- 
fore, this marked difference between the two gases: 
The one, the carbon, can be poured out into another 
vessel, because it is heavier than common air; but the 
nitrogen, which is lighter, cannot be poured out; but 
it will rise. Hence the extinguishment of the taper 
is no test of the presence of carbonic acid, nor of ni- 
trogen ; but they are distinguished altogether by their 
comparative weight. Common air is composed of 79 
parts of nitrogen, to 21 parts of oxygen, or nearly — 
carbonic acid constituting about a^oo- P^-i't of it. 
This small quantity of carbonic acid exists in the air, 
and from this small quantity plants derive all the car- 
bonic acid which they get from the air. 

How do they take it in ? I showed you in a former 
lecture, that the under surface of the leaves of plants 
is covered with an immense number of minute pores, 
and that these pores vary according to the circum- 
stances under which the plants live. They draw in 
through these pores, carbonic acid during the day, 



TO THE PLANT. 129 

but not during the night. The very great number of 
leaves and surfaces thus presented to the air, enables 
the plant to draw from it the minute portion of car- 
bonic acid necessary to its grov^th. This is one of the 
wonderful things of which nature is full. You can- 
not but be astonished to find, that this never-ceasing 
operation is going forward, and that the countless 
leaves of plants, which seem to us as intended 
merely for the ornament of trees, and to gratify the 
eye, by their perpetual motion, as the winds pass 
through them, are actually necessary to enable the 
plants to extract from the air, or to drink in the ele- 
ment so necessary to their growth and maturity. 

I shall, at the next meeting, draw your attention to 
the substances existing in plants ; that is to say, I 
shall show you that wood contains these elementary 
substances — carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen 
— but that it does not contain them in the states in 
which I have exhibited them here, but in a different 
form, and I shall show you that the plant consists of 
other substances which are necessary to its existence 
as such. For instance, this piece of wood, (holding 
up a rod,) consists of what we call woody fibre, 
mostly. The stalk, or straw, of wheat and grain, 
contains more than one kind of matter , so the seeds 
of plants, such as linseed, contain oil, among other 
things ; so that we have all these things growing in 
plants, in the wood, in the seeds, &c. 

At the next meeting, I shall again call your atten- 
tion to the functions of the leaf, and the manner in 
which the leaf acquires carbon from the atmosphere, 



130 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

in order to explain the functions of animal life, and to 
show how these functions are related. I cannot do 
this now, because I must introduce new names and 
things, and because the subject comes in more strictly 
in connection with the next lecture. But I may 
make one observation here in relation to these sub- 
stances, nitrogen, carbon, derived from carbonic acid, 
oxygen and hydrogen, which compose water ; that 
nitrogen is obtained from the soil in various forms, 
and that it is one form in which it is taken in by 
plants, but not so universally as some have supposed. 
There is one form in which nitrogen exists, and that 
is in ammonia, or common hartshorn. The nitrogen, 
which is necessary to the growth of plants is often 
taken up in this form, though not universally ; and 
though it exists in plants, in small quantities, yet it is 
of the greatest possible consequence to the existence 
of human and animal life. Thus much for the organic 
parts of plants. 

I pass on to the inorganic parts of plants ; and here 
I shall show you the necessity of those mineral sub- 
stances of which I spoke at our last meeting. If you 
take the ash of wood, or of any plant, and submit it 
to the same chemical examination to which I sub- 
mitted that part of the soil remaining after being 
burnt, you will find what the chemist tells you, that 
this ash consists, not of one or two substances, but of 
eight or ten. It will be found that the soil and the 
plant contain the same substances ; the only one not 
in the plant being alumina. What is the function of 
alumina in the soil ? Its mechanical function is to 



TO 'J'HK PLANT. 131 

nnclior the plant. Tenacity is necessary for this 
purpose. Some plants grow in mere sand, but the 
great majority of them require a certain degree of 
tenacity in the soil, which is obtained by mixing silica 
■with clay. This alumina being clay, explains why it 
is that it is not in the plant, but only in the soil. It 
does not enter into the plant, but gives tenacity to 
the soil, which is necessary to retain the plant. Take 
any plant, and it will be found to contain this ash, 
and this ash you will find contains all these sub- 
stances, some in larger, some in smaller quantities. 
To show the composition of the ash of different plants, 
Professor J. referred to the following table exhibiting 
the composition of the ash and straw of different 
plants. 



•Bao4U}Oj 


55.75 
1.86 
2.07 
5.28 
0.52 

12.57 
13.65 
4.27 

4.23 


© 

1 


•sdmjiix 


39.82 
10.86 
12.75 
4.68 
0.89 

6.69 
13.15 
3.68 

7.05 


§ 


JO MtJlg 


- 


— ccot;co(-c-. . — .. .J 
OXi-^'-'OUl-© . 0© © 


•SB3J 


CDi> lOOtJ© 1 CO TjS 


CO 


10 

d 


© 
I 


•suBag 

JO MBJIS 


CO -^ oi CO d © t> -i?^i '• ot^ 


8 

i 


•suBag 


33.56 
10.60 
6.77 
7.99 
0.56 

""*37."57 
1.00 
0.73 


■^ IS 


JO MB«g 


17.36 
0.31 
9.06 
2.41 
1.36 

0.83 
0.46 


.Is 


•e-fH 


22.08 
11.67 

4.93 
10.35 

1.36 

49.55 
0.98 


CO 

d 




© 


JO A\B.Ilg 


6.31 
0.61 
9.53 
3.22 
0.83 

'""'3."08 
1.63 
0.97 

1.39 

70.58 


UO 

i 


•Z9HBa 


13.64 
8.14 
2.62 
7.46 

1.48 

"38 ".93 
0.10 
0.04 

0.21 
27. U 


d 
01 


JO 3[snH 


06 • 


3.15 
1.09 
1.33 
0.61 
1.54 
6.46 
0.73 


s § 

,«li 


•SIBQ 
JO MBJlg 


19.14 
9. 09 
8.07 
3.78 
1.83 

'"2". 50 
3.25 
3.25 


■^ 

4 




•ifgnq ino 

-qilMS^BQ 


00 


5.95 
9.95 
0.40 

43.84* 
10.45 
0.26 

0.06 
2.67 

99.76 


•jBaqM 

JO MBiJg 


^S^g^ :S§J§ : : 

c^ddco-^ [co o-i j : 


^ IS 


•jBaqM 


23.72 
9.0.5 
2.8] 

12.03 
0.67 

49.-8! 
0.24 




'- IS 
-Is 


o 

f 

a 

1 


s 

£, 


d 


.1 


Oxide of iron, 

Oxide of manganese. 

Phosphoric acid, 

Sulphuric acid, 

Chloride 


s : 

1 ; 


1 1 

< 


1 





TO THE PLANT. 133 

There, you will see that all these diflerent sub- 
stances present in the soil are also present in the 
plant, but the proportions differ. You will observe 
that in the ash of wheat, oats, barley, and rye, pot- 
ash exists in the proportion of about /ro whereas, 
in the soil, the same ingredient is present in but a 
comparatively small proportion. So with phosphoric 
acid : it constitutes nearly half the ash of the grains, 
whereas, in the soil, it is exceedingly small. Now, 
this phosphoric acid, though present in small quanti- 
ties in the soil, is so necessary to the growth of 
plants, that they are found to contain a large propor- 
tion of it. Now, (pointing to the table exhibiting the 
composition of the ash of straw,) it will be seen that 
the straw contains but a small quantity of phosphoric 
acid. Potash in Indian corn is very like that in 
w^heat. The straw of wheat contains a large pro- 
portion of silica ; the ash of grain a large propor- 
tion of phosphoric acid. This acid rises as the plants 
grow, while the silicious matter comes in by the 
roots, and lodges itself in the straw. We see similar 
differences, if we look at the composition of the ash 
of our green crops, as the turnip and potato ; the 
potato is more than half potash, while the phosphoric 
acid is small, compared with that in the grains. In 
short, every plant, taken as a whole, contains these 
things in proportions different from any other plant ; 
and plants of different kinds, or families, differ mate- 
rially. So different parts of the same plant contain 
these substances in different proportions. What is 
the inference from all this ? Suppose a plant to be 



184 KKLATIONS UF I'HEMIUAJ, FHYSIOI.OUY 

growing; it- iinist get from the soil those substances 
which it most requires. If, in forming the flower, 
and perfecting the seed, these substances must flow- 
up readily, and the soil must furnish them in suffi- 
cient quantities, or the plant must cease to grow ra- 
pidly, this shows the practical applications, or results, 
that we shall arrive at — to which practical men have 
not yet done — but which, when we shall have reached 
a system of refined agriculture, will enable us more 
intelligently to adapt our modes of cultivation to the 
growth of plants ; and to that we shall come bye- 
and-bye. But to the practical application of these 
facts. First, you see what plants grow better in some 
soils than in others ; that if plants grow^ well on a 
given soil, it must be because that soil supplies the 
wants of the plant. Now, some soils contain very 
little phosphoric acid ; if the soil contains much 
potash, and you put upon it a plant requiring little, it 
will not grow well ; whereas, if you put upon it ano- 
ther plant requiring a great deal, it will grow well. 

When speaking of the relations of geology to agri- 
culture, I showed you that the kind of trees grow- 
ing upon difterent tracts of land indicated differences 
of soil — differences arising from the geological con- 
formation of the country ; but they are in reality the 
result of chemical differences, or of differences of ma- 
terials that enter into the soils, and which determine 
the trees that grov^^ upon it. So with crops ; if you 
select any soil, and undertake to grow plants there, 
for a time, they will grow well, just in proportion as 
the soil contains what the plant requires in greater or 



TO THE PLANT. 136 

less abundance. If it requires a particular substance 
in large quantities, the continual growth of it will 
exhaust the soil. Let me explain this word exhaust. 
Suppose you plant green crops, as the potato, for 
years in succession, without adding anything to the 
soil. If the crops are large, you will take a large 
quantity of potash, particularly from the soil ; besides 
taking out a portion of other matters belonging to the 
soil. It selects this potash in large quantities. After 
cropping for a long time, the land will cease to grow 
the potato, because of the exhaustion of the potash. 
This is what is called special exhaustion ; that is, 
there may be enough of other substances left to grow 
the potato. Hence, in many instances, the addition 
of wood ashes has been found to be a simple mode of 
making the soil grow the potato. Now, suppose, in a 
case of exhaustion, that you introduce a crop that 
contains or requires but a little potash, or much phos- 
phoric acid, and alternate this crop with the root 
crops, it is obvious that the soil will hold out longer, 
because, in that case, you do not draw so constantly 
on any one substance in the soil. This is one reason 
for the rotation of crops, and the most skilful rotation 
is that which is governed by these rules. Thus, you 
see the meaning of the two terms, general and special 
exhaustion. Land is generally exhausted where this 
alternation is pursued for a long series of years, and 
will remain so until all those things are added which 
have been taken from it, insufficient quantities to feed 
the plant. If I grow one crop continually, and that 
crop requires one thing to be present in the soil in 



136 RELATION OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

large quantities, I exhaust it of that one thing only, 
and I can add that and restore the soil, if I know 
what that is. This is the great object of the researches 
and labors of science in this direction — a kind of 
labor requiring more study than you can well under- 
stand at a glance. The great object is to understand 
what a plant takes from the soil, and what to put in 
to bring it back again. 

Professor J. illustrated this point by showing that 
a system of cropping might be adopted, which would 
lead to a partial exhaustion of the soil, and which it 
was vain to try to bring back again by ordinary 
manure, but which could be easily restored, and with- 
out any great expense, by applying to the soil the 
substances which must have been taken from it by that 
system of cropping. Let me draw your attention, 
said he, to a fact familiar to you, in this country where 
there is little intercourse with the large towns, and 
where the farmer raises or makes everything at 
home — his soap, candles, &c. In making soap, for 
instance, you know that the wood ashes are essential; 
but the farmer, whom I have described, does not take 
the ashes of soft wood, but of hard wood ; he will 
tell you, that his reason is, that there is no potash in 
the ashes of pine, and so it is in reality. Professor J. 
went on to state the quantity of potash contained in 
the ash of different woods, adding, that the ash of 
those trees which contain most potash, is the ash of 
those which grow in soils where there is an abundant 
supply of potash. Tobacco is a crop that contains 
much mineral matter. Suppose an acre to yield 800 



TO THE PLANT. l37 

lbs. of tobacco. These 800 lbs. contain about 160 
lbs. of mineral matter, which is carried off, as it were, 
by this kind of crop, and which will ultimately ex- 
haust the soil specially. You may think it remarka- 
ble, that, in the rotation of crops, first, wheat, then 
turnips, then barley, then clover, then wheat again, 
a very common rotation, mineral matter may be car- 
ried off to the extent of 1,300 lbs. per acre, you would 
naturally suppose that this would exhaust it more than 
tobacco, which, in four years, carries off 600 lbs. per 
acre ; but here is the difference : We do not sell off 
the straw ; we return that to the land in the form of 
manure, and by this means, the yearly loss is confined 
to that which is contained in the grain ; the grain con- 
tains only 83 lbs. for four years ; whereas, tobacco 
carries off 600 lbs. Of course, tobacco exhausts the 
soil far sooner ; that, I repeat, is special exhaustion, 
and knowing what tobacco carries off, we can supply 
it.* 

* The follo'.vinof is an analysis, taken from Professor Johnston's 
Lectures, 2d edition, of the ash of the tobacco leaf, and the com- 
position of a special rnannre for tobacco : — 

Potash, 12-14 

Soda, 0-07 

Lime, 4590 

Magnesia, . ' 13*09 

Chloride of sodium, ..... 3*49 

Chloride of potassium, 3-98 

Phosphate of iron, 5-48 

Phosphate of lime, 1*49 

Sulphate of limo, ...... 635 

Silica, 8-01 

100.00 



138 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

One other observation, as to the particular opera- 
tion of this : You see how a knowledge of what the 
plant takes from the soil, is necessar}^ to know what 
is the nature of exhaustion, and what to put into the 
soil to bring it back again so far as mineral matter is 
concerned. The organic matter plays an important 
part in the growth of plants, but I do not speak of 
that now. But you see how a knowledge of the in- 
organic substances taken out by a series of crops en- 
ables us to show what to put in it. But it does more ; 
it enables us to prepare manure which shall contain 
all the mineral matters that the crops have taken out, 
and to make special manures adapted to special 
cases. I have prepared tables of special manures 
thus adapted, in order to restore to the soil what 
the crops have taken from it. This is important, 
for it points out how to manufacture what a farmer 
wants to promote the growth of any crop, and to 
restore land to fertility, which has been exhausted. I 
do not pursue this matter further. I think I have 
shown you illustrations enough to satisfy you of the 
value of the application of refined, chemical research 

All the ingredients which are necessary to replace 100 lbs. cf 
the ash of tobacco leaves, are present in the following mixture : — 
Bone dust, sulphuric acid, .... 23 lbs. 
Carbonate of potash, (dry,) . . . . 31 " 
Do. soda, (dry,) .... 5 " 

Do. magnesia, 25 " 

Do. lime, (ehalk,) . . . 60 " 

144 lbs. 



TO THE PLANT. 139 

to the plant, and that, though complicated, they have 
a practical bearing on the every-day business of the 
farmer, and to show you how many kindred branches 
of science have been actually brought to bear direct- 
ly upon the pecuniary profits of his pursuit. 

At our next meeting, I shall show you how science 
has been brought to bear on the rearing and feeding 
of stock, and shall present to you considerations on 
this topic, which can scarcely fail to interest you ; 
and you wiU then see that this wide field of science, 
over which the practical farmer may travel with ad- 
vantage, becomes wider and wider with every step 
that he takes. 



LECTURE VII 



RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY TO THE ANIMAL 

ITS FOOD AND GROWTH. 

Gentlemen : The subject which I propose to intro- 
duce this evening is an exceedingly wide one, as in- 
deed I may say of all the subjects of which I have 
treated. At the same time, I think the points I shall 
be able to present this evening are so plain and intel- 
ligible that you can see plainly the width of the sub- 
jects of which I treat. You will recollect, that, at our 
last meeting, I presented to you the composition of 
the elementary part of the plant ; and I showed you, 
that, if you take any part of a plant and burn 
it, that by far the largest portion burns away ; that 
the part which burns away consists of four elementary 
substances, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, 
the last three being different kinds of air. I showed 
you, also, how they differed, and how they were to be 
distinguished. It is necessary to re-introduce this, to 
make you acquainted with what is called the ultimate 
composition of the organic parts of plants, animals, 
and soils. I wish to make use of these words, and 



CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY. 141 

unless previously explained, you would not be able to 
follow them. First, I draw your attention, not to the 
elementary constituents of plants, but to the sub- 
stances that exist in the plants which we eat ; for ex- 
ample, the great mass of this rod consists of woody 
fibre ; then, if you take a grain of ground wheat you 
know that it contains much starch ; that is another sub- 
stance that the plant produces. The sugar cane pro- 
duces sugar ; this sugar exists in all plants. These 
substances all consist of the elementary bodies spoken 
of. There is no nitrogen in these I mention, but others 
contain it. Now, of the crops we cultivate, these 
three substances, woody fibre, starch, and sugar con- 
stitute a very large proportion. But before I show 
you of what they consist, and in what proportions, I 
must explain to you the nature of the important sub- 
stances existing in the plants which we cultivate for 
food. 

If you take a quantity of wheat flour and make it 
into a dough, and put this dough on a piece of muslin, 
tied over a glass, and pour water on it, the water will 
pass through the muslin in a milky form. If you con- 
tinue the process until the water passes through quite 
clear, a substance will remain, which the chemists 
call " gluten." The milky substance which passes 
through the muslin, falls to the bottom in the shape of 
a white powder; that is, starch. Thus I separate 
wheat flour into starch and gluten. Now, this glu- 
ten contains all four of the elementary bodies I have 
named — it contains about 16 per cent, of nitrogen. 
Hence, the nitrogen in the atmosphere is of great im- 



142 



RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 



portance in the growth of wheat. Take any vege- 
table substance — the straw of wheat, or this piece ol 
wood ; and it contains a great quantity of fibrous 
substance called woody fibre — that exists in all plants. 
If you take this gluten, and put it into spirits of wine, 
(alcohol,) and heat it, you can extract from it a quan- 
tity of oil. So with Indian corn or oats, and from 
the stalk and straw of either you can extract more or 
less oil. We have, then, first of all, the woody fibre, 
we have starch, and gluten, and oil ; these four are 
important to the nourishment of animals, and exist in 
all plants. But before showing the importance of 
these substance to the growing animal, I must show 
you the proportions in which they exist. 



Average composition of 100 parts of the more 
common grains, roots, grasses, etc. 







^ 


-re! 


- 6 




. 




si 


o >^ . 




S i Js^ 


>>^ 


2 o 








Ill 


|55 

10 to l9 


2 to 4 


a ^ 


Wheat, 


15 


15 


55 


2 


Barley, . 


15 


15 


60 


12 to 15 


2 to 3 


3 


Oats, . 


16 


20 


60 


14 to 19 


5 to 7 


4 


Rye, ' . . 


12 


10 to 20 


60 


10 to 15 


3 to 4 


2 


Indian corn, . 


14 


6 


70 


12 


5 to 9 


n 


Buckwheat, 


15 


25 


50 


8 


0-4 


4 


Rice, . 


13 


3 


75 


7 


0-7 


0| 


Beans, 


14 


811 


40 


24-28 


23 


3* 


Peas, . 


14 


9 


50 


24 


21 


S 


Potatoes, 


75 


4 


18 


2 


0-3 


1 


Turnips, . 


88 


2 


9 


15 


0-3 


^ to 4-5 


Carrots, 


85 


3 


10 


1-5 


0-4 


l?to2 


Mangel- Wurzel, 


85 


2 


11 


2-0 


1 


Itoli 


Meadow hay. 


14 


80 


40 


71 


2 to 5 


5 to 10 


Clover hay, 


14 


25 


40 


93 


3 to 5 


9 


Pea straw, . 


10 to 15 


25 


45 


123 


15 


4 to 6 


Oat straw. 


12 


45 


35 


1-3 


0-8 1 


6 


Wheat straw. 


12 to 15 


50 


30 


13 


2to3i 


5 


Barley straw, . 


12 to 15 


50 


30 


1-3 


1 ' 


5 


Rye straw, . 


12 to 15 


45 


88 


13 


\ 


4 


Indian corn stalks. 


12 


25 


52 


30 


17 


3 to 7 



TO THE ANIMAL. 143 

Some ol" the above numbers, are approximations 
only, especially the fatty matter, which is very un- 
certain, and the buckwheat. 

This table contains all we know of the composition 
of crops. You see that there is water in all this food. 
Wheat contains 15 per cent, of w^ater ; the turnip from 
88 to 90 per cent., showing the difference between 
grain and roots. The next column represents the 
woody fibre which animals cannot digest, and in 
which there is no nourishment. This, in wheat and 
other grains, varies from 10 to 20 per cent. Here are 
starch and sugar. Wheat contains about 55 per cent, 
of starch ; and here I must speak of this substance, 
for it affords us an exceedingly beautiful illustration 
of the relations of the plant to the animal, especially 
to the life of the animal, and again of the animal to 
the life of the plant. About half the weight of wheat 
consists of starch. So with barley, Indian corn, rice, 
peas, and beans. Then all grains contain a substance 
analogous to gluten, but varying in this, that all do not 
contain the same quantity. Of this gluten, there exists 
in flour from 10 to 19 per cent.; in barley from 12 to 
15 ; in oats from 14 to 19 ; in rye 15 ; in Indian corn 12 ; 
in rice 8 ; in buckwheat 8 ; in beans and peas from 24 
to 28 per cent., which is much more than is contained in 
any of the grains, and hence these produce the 
greatest effect upon certain functions of animal life. 
In the potato and turnip, it is very small, for nine 
tenths of the turnip consist of water. Pea straw is 
very rich in it ; all other straw^s are comparatively 
poor. Wheat and barley have little oil ; oats from 5 



144 KELATIONS OF CHEMICAI. PHYSIOLOGY 

to 7 per cent.; Indian corn 5 to 9 ; beans and peas from 
2 to 3 per cent. Therefore, these latter are deficient 
in oil. You find, going down, the quantity is small in 
the roots. So with the straws, they contain but little 
oil. Professor J. here pointed to a diagram, showing 
the quantity of saline matter in the ash of different 
straws. Now there are two things of which I must 
remind you. 1st, that of all these different kinds and 
forms of matter, which exists in all plants, but in dif- 
ferent proportions, gluten, starch, and oil are largest 
in the grains. Starch is the largest in the grains, 
gluten larger in the grains than in the straws, except 
pea straw, and is largest of all in the beans and peas. 
Oil or fat is greater in the seeds, and especially 
certain seeds, cultivated for food, greater in the oat 
and Indian corn than in other plants. Linseed I shall 
speak of, though this is cultivated for the oil and not 
for food, yielding about 60 per cent, of it. Now 
these substances exists in all foods in different quan- 
tities. But how are these substances formed in the 
plant? Where does the plant get them? These 
inquiries render it necessary for me to make you 
acquainted with a principle of great importance to a 
clear understanding of the relations of different kinds 
of animated nature, one to another, the relations of the 
plant to the soil and of the soil to the animal. Time 
will not permit me to introduce some interesting 
substances existing in the soil from which plants are 
enabled to build up these kinds of food. But I will 
remind you, by way of illustration, of an experiment 
made at our last meetinii^. I took a little limestone 



TO THE ANIMAI,. 145 

and poured on it a quantity of acid ; I now repeat 
that experiment. The effervescence is owing to the 
evolution of a kind of air called carbonic acid gas, one 
property of which was that it extinguished a taper 
when put into it ; another was, that it could be poured 
out from one vessel into another ; it is called acidi 
because in reality it is sour to the taste. This car- 
bonic acid consists of two of the elementary substances 
of which I have spoken, carbon and oxygen. This 
carbon exists in plants and forms a large portion of the 
wood, as the gluten and starch and fat do, of the seed. 

Perhaps you will recollect that I explained the 
structures of the leaves of plants, and showed how 
the under side, particularly, was studded with numer- 
ous pores or apertures, through which the plant sucked, 
in certain substances from the air. I told you at our 
last meeting, that the leaves of plants, spreading 
through the air and exposing the large surfaces to it, 
sucked in this carbonic acid gas, which exists in the 
atmosphere in a very small proportion. This table, 
(pointing to a diagram) represents the proportion of 
carbonic acid gas which exists in the atmosphere. 
You will see that but one gallon of this air exists in 
2,500 gallons of atmospheric air. The leaves of plants, 
through these little pores, suck out this gas from the 
atmosphere, in order, that, after undergoing certain 
chemical changes, it may serve to build up the sub- 
stance of the plant. 

What are these chemical changes? The plant 
sucks in the carbon as long as the sun shines. This 
carbonic acid gas consists of carbon and oxygen, and 



146 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

the plant sucks it in while the sun shines ; but the 
leaves at the same time that they suck in the carbonic 
acid, discharge very nearly as much oxygen, as they 
take in of oxygen in the form of carbonic acid ; that 
is, if the leaf sucks in a given volume of the tv^^o gases 
combined, it discharges the whole of the oxygen which 
it contains, and retains the carbon ; therefore, the 
function of the leaf is to suck in carbonic acid and 
throw off oxygen; to retain the carbon and throw oft' 
the oxygen. But it retains the carbon, not as char- 
coal ; on the contrary, the plant exhibits green leaves, 
having no appearance of charcoal about them. But 
it undergoes certain chemical changes, the result of 
which, is, that the oxygen is given off*, and the carbon 
becomes a new substance. That is one source from 
which the plant derives the food, out of which the 
different substances in the table are formed. 

This illustration of the way in which leaves take in 
sustenance from the atmosphere shows you the mode 
in which plants, through the roots, as well as leaves, 
take in their food and convert it into another form of 
matter, the result being a change of what is thus 
taken in, into starch, gluten, and fat, which are found 
in all plants, and which are important to the nourish- 
ments of animals. 

I shall not dwell on this now, but come back to it 
before I conclude, having made you acquainted with 
the fact, as far as necessary, to enable you to under 
stand the general principle I wish to fix on your 
minds, in regard to the composition of plants. I now 
draw your attention to the composition of animals. 



TO THE ANIMAL. 147 

Composition of Animals. 

If I take any portion of an animal, for instance, the 
end of my fingers, and burn it, a large portion will 
burn away, and there would remain behind, also, a 
large portion. The larger portion of the finger, the 
bone, would remain, in fact, being nearly the whole 
of the original bulk. So, if I take a piece of flesh, 
and cut ofFa bit of this muscle, excluding both the fat 
and the bone, and burn it, I find that a large portion 
burns away ; but there remains a quantity of ash. 
Here we find precisely what we find in burning the 
plant. Every part of the plant which burns leaves 
behind it a mineral matter, or ash. So it was with 
the soil, and so we find it now with the animal. 
These general relations between the soil, the plant, 
and animal, all resolve themselves into the fact, 
that all of them consist of a part which burns 
away, and a part which does not ; of the soil, the 
part that burns away is small ; in the plant it is 
very large ; but in animals we find both of these con- 
ditions ; the soft parts of the animal bear a similarity 
to the plant; in that the quantity which burns away 
is greater than what is left ; but if you burn the bone, 
there will remain a large quantity of mineral matter — 
the ash of the bone is greater than what burns away. 
Thus a quantity of mineral matter is left by every 
part of the animal, which is burnt, and the quantity 
varies with the part of the animal which we burn. 
But I do not dwell on the mineral substance left. I 
draw your attention to the organic part that burns 
away. Look at this piece of beef. Here are three 



148 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

different substances ; the muscle, or red part, the fat, 
and the bone. Now, in every part of the animal, 
leaving out the viscera, you find these three forms of 
matter exist; the fat, the muscle, and the bone. 

Consider these different substances. The fat has a 
strong analogy to the fat existing in plants. If I take 
a portion of the fat, (the suet as it is called), and put 
it under a press, I can squeeze out oil, which shows, 
that, in this solid fat, liquid fat is present. From this, 
candles may be made, soap, &c. I have said that 
this is analogous to the fat in plants. Take olive oil, 
for instance ; in winter, it becomes a solid lump of 
fat, but, put it under a press and you can squeeze out 
an oil, that will not freeze, and it will leave a substance, 
that is oily and will remain solid even in the summer. 
Here you see the analogy between the fat of plants 
and that of animals. The solid fat of olive oil is the 
same as the solid fat of animals. If I eat olive oil, I 
eat solid fat, precisely like that of my own body. 
But I pass over this, believing that you will concede 
to be true what I cannot explain further — that the fat 
of all animals has a relation to the fat of all plants. 

Now take this muscle, colored by blood ; cut it out 
and wash it with water, until you wash out all the 
blood ; you get a perfectly white substance, which can 
be drawn or torn into fibres. This is called fibrin. 
Now this fibrin is almost identical with the gluten of 
plants. Here then, is another analogy between the 
plant and the animal. Therefore, as the fat of 
animals is found to be identical with that of plants, so 
the muscle of animals is almost identical with that part 
of the plant called gluten. 



TO THE ANIMAL. 149 

But how with the bone? In plants, there are no 
bones ; we have a hard substance, which is not bone 
but which is sometimes very hard, as the wood of 
ebony. Burn the wood of plants, and you have a 
small quantity of ash ; burn the bone of animals, and 
you have a large quantity. In tracing out the analogy 
between plants and animals, let me draw your atten- 
tion to the bones of animals. Here is the bone of the 
ox ; the cartilage will burn away, one third of the 
dry bone will burn away. Now of the phosphate of 
lime, 57 per cent, exists in the bone — phosphate of 
lime consists of phosphoric acid and lime. You recol- 
lect, I told you that phosphoric acid and lime both 
exist in plants — and in the ash of the grain of wheat, 
to an amount equal to one half of the whole bulk. 
You see, therefore, that we have in the bone and the 
ash of the bone, those substances which seem to form 
the largest proportion of the mineral matter existing 
in the different kinds of food that we eat, and also in 
the food for cattle. Where does the animal get these 
substances forming the different parts of the body — 
the muscle, the fat, and the bone? It is obtained from 
the food which is eaten ; but observe, that, whilst the 
plant draws from the soil and from the air one form 
of matter, and converts it into another, as for instance, 
carbonic acid gas — does the animal do it ? No. On 
the other hand, the animal takes in, not the raw 
material, as it were, but the material already produced 
by the plant — the animal takes in this gluten, in the 
form of bread or grain, which gluten is almost iden- 
tical with the solid part of the muscle. The animal 



150 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

also takes in fat with its food. Whether we eat vege- 
table or animal food, we take in fat substances closely 
related to the fat of our own bodies ; and in regard to 
the bone, we take in food that contains the material 
which forms the mineral matter of the bone itself. 
Therefore, though the plant bears this relation to the 
animal, the plant could exist without the animal, but 
not the animal without the plant. The animal could 
not suck in the atmosphere and convert that into the 
solid parts of its own body. It is so ordered that the 
plant drinks in from the air certain substances, and 
certain other substances from the soil, which are 
necessary to its growth, just as we would take a purse 
from the pocket and select a piece of money taking 
out of both, what it wants, and nothing more. So, 
when food is introduced into the stomach, it is imme- 
diately placed in contact with the digestive organs, 
which perform the same office for the body, as the 
leaves do for the plant. The stomach has its peculiar 
functions, and selects from the material that the plant 
has prepared, the very things which are needed to 
build up the several parts of the body, which require 
to be built up. But there is a difference which I must 
explain : I have shown a strong analogy between the 
plant and the animal ; we have seen that both contain 
fat and gluten. But I said I would draw your atten- 
tion more particularly to these substances. Starch, 
we find, exists in wheat, to the extent of half the 
weight of the grain, and we eat with our food, a large 
quantity of starch. Is there any starch in the human 
body? No. Here, then, is the striking difference to 



TO Till: ANIMAI-. 151 

which I have alluded. We find that, in this food, 
which is supposed to be especially made to sustain 
the human family, namely, the grains, we find starch 
forms nearly half of the whole of the bulk. What is 
the end or purpose of this ? To understand this, it is 
necessary to explain one or two functions of the 
animal. 



Functions of Living Animals. 

Living animals perform various functions. The 
food they eat is digested ; that is the most important 
function ; but we cannot compare the importance of 
one function with another, in the living animal ; for if 
any one function ceases to be carried on, the anima 
ceases to live. But wiiat is the distinction ? First of 
all, the food is dissolved in the stomach, and by means 
of the organisation of the stomach, the animal selects 
from it, the materials necessary for such parts as need 
it. But the animal breathes. vStop our breath, and 
we could not live a moment. What is the eftect on 
animal life, of breathing ? Here is the difference be- 
tween plants and animals. Compare the composition 
of air, before it goes into the lungs, with its composi- 
tion, when it comes out^ you -vill find that the air 
comes out charged with a greater quantity of carbonic 
acid gas, than when it went in. In its passage through 
the lungs, the volume of this gas is greatly increased. 
This carbonic acid comes from the blood of the 
system ; it consists of carbon and oxygen, and is 
obtained from the food. The animal, in fact, draws 
8 



152 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

in air, and tiirows out air of a different composition ; 
the oxygen is diminished, and the carbon increased. 

Of what does starch consist? Of carbon in large 
quantities. When the leaves draw in carbonic acid, 
they throw off oxygen ; the carbon only remains, and 
that in a new state of combination ; it forms starch, 
among other things, by uniting with water— starch, 
in fact, consists of carbon and water only — so that in 
forming starch, the carbonic acid unites with water in 
the plant. It forms starch, which the sap of the plant 
conveys to the part which requires it. We find it 
largely in the seeds. Now, the function of the leaf is 
to change this carbonic acid and form starch. The 
animal takes this starch into the stomach and decom- 
poses it, and it escapes from the lungs in the state of 
carbonic acid and water. I say water, for if I take a 
clear, dry glass, and breathe into it, it makes it 
opaque ; the moisture of the breath being condensed 
upon the cool glass. The lungs, therefore, are con- 
tinually throwing off carbonic acid and water, and 
these are thrown off at the expense of the food which 
the animal eats ; that is, the starch which is conveyed 
into the stomach in the form of food, is by certain ani- 
mal processes converted into carbonic acid and water, 
and thrown off by the lungs. If I take a piece of 
starch and kindle it, it will burn much like wood, and 
give out heat and light; and when it gives out this 
heat and light, it is converted into carbonic acid and 
water, or into the same things exactly as it is by the 
respiration of the animal. Thus the functions of ani- 
mal life convert starch into the same substances as 
when we burn it. 



TO THE ANIMAL. 153 

You will ask, what is the purpose of all this ? The 
plant sucks in carbon and water, and the animal takes 
it in, in the shape of food, and discharges it again in 
the same form. Is this designed for the mere amuse- 
ment of the animal ? No. The purpose is this : Ani- 
mals require to be kept warm, and among the means 
to keep up warmth, one is the application of external 
heat. It is also kept warm by its food. The animal 
that is stationary will keep itself above the tempera- 
ture of the air without the application of heat, because 
the animal has within itself a source of heat ; and just 
as when starch is burned, it gives out heat, so in the 
interior of the body — though it does not burn so 
rapidly, and gives no light — yet it undergoes a slow 
chemical change, which is known to produce heat, 
that keeps the body warm, and thus starch serves to 
keep up the animal heat. That, at least, is the pre- 
sent opinion. The animal takes in this starch with its 
food, the plant mixes it up with what the animal eats. 
The animal must eat starch with other substances, and 
thus the animal cannot eat what wqll not supply the 
materials to enable it to discharge all the functions of 
the body. Nature mixes up these things in order 
that respiration may go on, and that the animal may 
be kept warm, and provides also that the plant may 
undo what the animal has done, and thus renew the 
substances necessary to keep up the animal functions. 

You cannot fail to see how very beautiful this cycle 
is. Here is a continual operation going on, by which 
the carbonic acid and water of the atmosphere are 
converted by the plant into food, one of the compo- 



154 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

nent parts of which is starch, and by which it is again 
returned to the atmosphere, in the state of the same 
carbonic acid and water. But there are larger cycles 
than this, on which the existence of animal life de- 
pends. , 

The Food of Animals. 

To advance one step further : You see now the rea- 
son why it is that the plant differs from the animal, in 
that it contains this large quantity of starch. But 
what is the relation of other kinds of food that the 
plant contains, to the animal? What is the function 
of gluten, or that substance which we have found to 
be nearly identical with the fibre of the muscle? 
When the animal eats vegetable food, it eats a portion 
of this material, which is so nearly identical with its 
own muscle. You understand, no doubt, that if cer- 
tain parts of the animal are building up or increasing, 
why it is necessary to give it continual supplies of 
that substance from which the muscle is built up. If 
this is what supplies the growth of muscle, you might 
say that if the muscle is fully formed, it is not neces- 
sary to keep it up ; that if this substance is introduced 
into the stomach, and the gluten is selected, which 
goes to form the muscle ; that the gluten, in such a 
case, is not wanted. But this is not so ; this law ex- 
ists, though the body may appear to be identically the 
same, yet it is continually changing and undergoing 
renovation in different parts. There are certain parts 
of every portion of every animal, removed every day, 
and a quantity of new material put in its place, so 



TO THE ANIMAL. 165 

that the body is^ kept up by the continual addition of 
new matter. 

The way this takes place may be thus illustrated : 
Suppose you have a scar that has remained as 
far back as you can recollect, if this doctrine be true, 
that the whole body is renewed once in five years, 
you may well think it curious that this little mark 
should remain so long, without any apparent change 
in its appearance ; but it is, int fact, engraved, as it 
were, not on the matter orfginally injured, but on 
other matter. You can understand this by this sim- 
ple illustration : Suppose this building to be of brick, 
and that every day some small part of it is taken 
out — a brick from this or that place, and a new one 
put in, until the whole building has been renewed, 
and yet no apparent change in it beyond the color of 
the new material ; for you can conceive how such a 
process might go on, until every part of the building 
had been replaced by other materials, and yet the 
building remain a complete building in all its parts, its 
interior accommodations and its outward proportions. 
This is constantly taking place in your body ; from 
every part of it, a portion is removed every day, more 
or less, according to the quantity of material taken 
up in the shape of food. Hence, the animal should 
have a constant supply, in order that this daily waste 
may be made up. An animal requires, to sustain its 
body in good condition, or to supply what is called 
the sustaining food, about one sixtieth part of its own 
weightj and to keep it in condition, one fiftieth or one 
sixtieth part of its own weight, every day, to sustain 



156 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

its daily waste. If you want to giv§ it food, to in- 
crease its size, to enable it to do work, or to produce 
milk, then you must give it more food. If you feed 
it for milk, you must give it twice that quantity. You 
must adapt your food to the points for which the 
animal is fed, and you can do this, for the art of feed- 
ing animals with a view to certain results, is one of 
those arts which science has given to the farmer. If 
I want to lay on muscle, I must give food that con- 
tains gluten ; and looking over this table, (pointing to 
a diagram,) you will see that beans and peas contain 
this in the largest quantity, and you know how impor- 
tant an article of food beans and peas are for horses 
and cattle, particularly for working horses. Cabbage 
contains about nine tenths of its weight of water. 
Wheat, 35 or 40 per cent, of gluten, or of this matter 
from which muscle is formed. The flower of the 
cauliflower contains more of gluten than any sub- 
stance we raise for food. If you want to lay on fat, 
you will give the animal food that contains more fat, 
such as Indian corn ; so if you want to give it a good 
coat, you will give it oats or Indian corn. You can 
make an animal fat by giving it fat, but in general, we 
select seeds or grains, such as linseed, that contain a 
large quantity of oil, sometimes twenty per cent. 
Rape seed contains 70 per cent., and poppy seed con- 
tains a great per centage of oil. In Flanders, France* 
and other parts of Europe, it is cultivated for its oil. 
The cake which is left after expressing the oil, is ex- 
ceedingly nourishing, and can be used advantageously 
in feeding cattle. This poppy cake does not contain 



TO THR ANIMAL. 157 

opium enough to hurt an animal ; vv^hen seed cakes 
are employed to feed animals, oil cakes are imported 
for this purpose. Here is a table of the composition 
of oil cakes. Three different varieties can be made. 
This oil cake contains what forms muscle and fat, and 
farmers know that to lay on muscle and fat, it is a most 
profitable kind of food. But the animal is often fed 
for milk. Now milk has three different qualities. 
The milkman wants quantity and not quality, and 
therefore he gives his cattle grains from the brewery 
— drinks of various kinds and water — and if he finds, 
after all, that the milk is too rich, he puts a little wa- 
ter in it [laughter]. But where the dairyman wants 
butter or cheese, then he wants quality. If he makes 
butter, the milk should be rich. He can add largely 
to the ordinary produce of the dairy, by the selection 
of food, rich in oil. In England, we give them oil 
cake, but not much at a time, as it gives an undesira- 
ble taste to the butter ; but this is the result rather of 
inexperience, for the skilful dairyman finds he can 
give a large quantity of oil cake and get a far better 
quality of milk than by giving any other food. So if 
he wants milk for cheese, he gives the food that is 
rich in the material to produce curd — that is precisely 
the food that produces muscle — and when I tell you 
that what produces muscle produces the curd in the 
milk of the cow, you then have a clue to the mode in 
which animals should be fed, when you desire to pro- 
duce certain results. If I want a poor cheese, I would 
give the animal cabbage, which contains little fat, 
but a large quantity of the muscle-forming or curd- 



158 KELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

forming material — it produces a milk poor in cream 
and butter, but rich in the material that forms curd. 
But if I desire milli for butter or rich cheese, I give 
more fat, and of all, the materials that we know of, lin- 
seed oilcake is the best, 

I do not dwell on the feeding of animals for 
■growing young calves. When the animal is growing, 
it is necessary to adopt the food to its condition. You 
must give it such food as is necessary to increase the 
bone. The cow in calf must also have a supply of 
food in proportion to its condition, so if you are rear- 
ing young animals, you must give food to preserve the 
milk of its natural consistency ; but we, in England, 
feed animals with a view, merely, to fill up the farm- 
yard with manure. The I'armer does it not for profit 
in such cases from his animal, but from the richness 
of the manure. Under all circumstances, the kind of 
food should be selected with reference to the result 
of analytic research, and according to the purposes 
for which the animal is fed — regarding also the food 
which is the cheapest in market or which is most 
readily within reach. 

It is of great importance to attend to the state in 
which the food is introduced into the stomach, [f I 
select Indian corn without mixing it with other food, 
the animal cannot digest it readily. So with other 
food. This shows how important it is, that the food, 
whatever its composition, if it is to produce its full 
feeding effect, should be given in such a state that the 
animal can avail itself of it. Ti.e feeding of animals 
with prepared fbod^ is a branch of knowledge which 



TO THE ANIMAL. 169 

has resulted in great profit to the farmer. A mixture 
of different kinds of food is better than one kind ; bet- 
ter, because it is of different kinds, than because it 
has different compositions, and by mixing food we are 
more likely to meet the wants of the animal. When 
food is mixed with cut chaff, it is far more nourishing. 
In short, food goes further, and performs its functions 
more effectually, when mixed up in this way. Now, 
you have all heard of malt being used in feeding 
stock ; malt differs from ordinary barley from its 
being sprouted a very little, and dried. Barley con- 
tains starch and gluten ; when it sprouts, a certain 
quantity of gluten changes its character, being con- 
verted into a substance soluble in water. If you take 
malt and crush it, and put it into water, the water will 
dissolve out this substance which is found at the root 
ofthegerai, and the water, when poured off, will 
dissolve starch. Put starch into water and it will not 
dissolve, but it will dissolve in this v\^ater thus poured 
off. Take malt, then, as prepared by the brewers, 
and put it into the food for cattle, and it performs in 
the stomach the process of dissolving the starch in the 
food. This is a reason, not why malt is not more 
nutritive than barley, but why malt may be pro- 
fitably used when mixed up with other food, as it 
expedites the conversion of the food into a liquid 
form, and is more nourishing. 

I should have made you acquainted, had I time, 
with another thing, and that is the influence of the cir- 
cumstances in which the animal is placed on the effect 
of his food — such as the influences of warmth, shelter, 



160 RELATIONS OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

ventilation and quiet. All these circumstances have 
a ^reat effect on the influence that the food which he 
gets has on the animal. I have a table of the eifects 
of warmth and shelter, made up from experiment, 
and showing results of the character which I have 
intimated ; but I have said quite enough to show you, 
that in addition to the state in which the food is given, 
which modifies the effect of that food, the circum- 
stances in which the animal is placed make the food 
more or less nutritious. I think you cannot fail to 
have seen in this interesting department of science, 
which I have merely run over — for the time would not 
permit me to go into the details — is not only of great 
importance to the practical farmer, but as worthy of 
his consid3ration, and as closely connected with the 
development of agriculture, as an art, as any of those 
branches which it has been my happiness to lay be- 
fore you. 

To-morrow night I shall show you, how the pursuit 
of this branch of study throws light on the common 
practical operation of the farmer, in improving the 
soil by manures. 



LECTURE VIII 



RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO THE DOCTRINE OF 
MANURES. 

Gentlemen : Tlie subject of the lecture this even- 
ing is the Relations of Chemistry to the Doctrine of 
Manures, or in other words, the improvement 
of the soil by chemical means. You will recol- 
lect, after T discussed the composition of the 
soil, and showed you, that when fertile it contained 
always certain substances in various proportions, that 
I then drew your attention to the modes in which the 
soil might be improved ; that I stated there were two 
methods of doing this, one mechanical, the other 
chemical, and that I discussed the mechanical method, 
which consisted chiefly in deeper plowing, subsoiling, 
and draining. The improvement of the soil by chemi- 
cal means is more important, though no one result is 
more important than another to the farmer, except as 
one is more profitable than the other. It is quite cer- 
tain, that no chemical improveaient, whatever, can 
result in higher profit than one or other of the me- 
chanical modes I have stated — plowing deep, subsoil- 



102 KELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

ing and lliurough drainage. Still, supposing the soil 
to be already improved in this way, then come in the 
new, or chemical methods, by which it can be still 
further improved, and it is one of those indirect ad- 
vantages resulting from thorough drainage, that after it 
has been introduced and the soil made dry, you cari 
then employ the means which chemistry puts within 
your reach. But if not thus improved, chemical means 
often prove ineffectual. 

Manures — the Food of Plants. 

As to the chemical mode, it is what we understand 
by manuring, and by manure, we understand anything 
that feeds the plant, and corresponds with the food 
given to animals. Now, to understand fully every 
substance employed as a manure to feed the plant or 
prepare food for it, we must know what a manitre 
should contain, and why it should contain these things^ 
But as preliminary to the answer to this question, we 
must inquire what kinds of food the plant needs, if the 
object or purpose of manuring be to supply food to 
the plant. Thus, if we know what food the plant re- 
quires, then we know what manure is to be put on. I 
explained the evening before, that the plant consists 
in great part, of two forms of matter, one of which, 
and by far the greater part, was the organic Ibrm of 
matter, and that the inorganic or mineral part was the 
smaller portion. In explaining the organic part, the 
starch, gluten, and fat, and the woody fibre, I told 
you that there were certain elements of these sub- 



TO THE UOCTUINE OF MANURES. 163 

Stances, which the plant derived from the air, in large 
proportion, and certain other elements from the soil 
only, and that of those elements derived from the air, 
nitrogen was one only. I told you that the mineral 
part, or ash, is wholly from the soil. Now all manuring 
is applied to the soil ; therefore, whatever the plant 
draws from the soil, these substances or manures 
should contain ; and the first thing we must study in 
regard to manures, is, what they should generally 
contain, if they are to make all plants grow under all 
circumstances, for we may have a very barren soil, 
which, in itself, would produce no crop whatever, as 
you recollect I showed you on a previous occasion. 
Now, on such a soil, if you apply a manure which 
shall make any crop grow, then you know it should 
be such as should bring it up to the kind of land called 
fertile. These general manures should combine all 
that a plant requires to build it up, the nitrogen, which 
I call gluten, and these mineral substances, lime, pot- 
ash, magnesia, phosphoric acid, and chlorine. All 
these substances this manure must add to the soil, it 
it is to make plants grow under any circumstances. 

The Three General Classes of Manures. 

In considering the different kinds of manure, our 
attention is drawn to three different classes of sub- 
stances, which naturally present themselves in divi- 
sions: 1st, vegetable manure; 2d, animal ; 3d, mine- 
ral. The one derived from vegetable substances, 
another from parts of animals, and the mineral, from 



164 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

the substances occurring in nature, or which can be 
extracted from rocks ; and there is a fourth class, 
more important, perhaps, than all ; those which result 
from the application of science to this subject, namely, 
the artificial manures, which are compounded with 
reference to what we know to be the wants of the 
plant. Let me draw your attention to these manures, 
with this preliminary observation, however, that 
though we arrive, from these considerations, at cer- 
tain conclusions, as to what the plant requires always, 
that is certain organic and mineral matter ; yet we 
cannot be sure that certain vegetable or animal or 
mineral substances contain them all ; but we can be 
certain that those manures, which we make up, shall 
contain them all. 

Vegetable Manures. 

These are applied either in the green or in the dry 
state. " Green manuring" is the turning into the soil 
vegetable matter which is growing ; as when a crop 
of clover is plowed in, or when the sward is plowed 
up, and the grass buried, or when green crops, grown 
for the purpose, are left to decay ; for crops are often 
sown for the mere purpose of plowing them in. Legu- 
minous crops are very good ; clover is very good ; 
lupines are cultivated largely in Europe and sold for 
manures. The crop is plowed in before it ripens. So 
in Northern America, buckwheat is sowed for a simi- 
lar purpose, and many other plants are sown, to be 
turned in for manure, when in a certain state. This 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 165 

is one of those methods, within the reach of every 
man, and which in this country may be used to ad- 
vantage when the land is exhausted. In many parts 
of America, where I have been, (I do not refer to this 
State,) these exhausted soils occur, and where the diffi- 
culty of obtaining these fertilising substances, except 
from a distance, is very great. Hence, any method 
which the farmer has within his reach, and by which 
he can most easily restore strength to his land, must 
be the best ; and this method of plowing in green 
manure is very effectual. 

How does this act ? I have spoken of the lupine, 
which is analogous to peas and beans. You recollect, 
that, last night, I showed you the composition of differ- 
ent crops, and among the rest, that of the bean and 
the pea. (See table at page 142.) You will recollect 
that they contained 24 or 25 per cent, of gluten, and 
that even in the straw of these, there is as much gluten 
as in wheat. The nutritive quality of the straw of 
the bean and the pea, would be as great as that of 
wheat; consequently, you see in this, one of those 
deductions, which the analogies of plants enable us 
to draw. The lupine has this quality ; it is rich in 
gluten, containing, among other things, nitrogen, 
which it has taken from the soil only, and therefore, if 
you bury it in the soil, you enrich it with this gluten, 
which is so important an element to the growth of 
plants. 

Further — by plowing in green crops, you introduce 
another element. You know that all plants contain 
mineral matter ; and the bean and pea contain con- 



166 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

siderable. The roots of a plant go down as far as 
possible, if the habit of the plant is that way. Beans 
and peas go down to a great depth in search of food, 
and among this food, are the mineral matters of which 
I have spoken — lime, potash, soda, &c. The roots 
send this up into the stem of the plant ; they bring it 
from below, above the surface, or into the stem of 
the plant. But in this way, they do not get into the 
material of the surface ; but if you plow in the plant, 
you supply the surface, not only with nitrogen, but 
with mineral matter. Thus you employ the roots of 
the plant to bring up from below what you want, upon 
the surface. This is the philosophy of ''green 
manuring." It does not put anything new into the soil, 
but it brings up from below, and puts upon the sur- 
face that which renders the surface fertile. 

But besides green manuring, marine plants are often 
used — such as seaweed. This is another form of green 
vegetable matter. It is used on the sea coast ; and in 
Scotland, it is considered so valuable a manure that the 
right of way to the sea side, adds a large additional ren- 
tal an acre to lands. Now seaweeds contain a large 
quantity of organic and of mineral matter. There is a 
table, (pointing to a diagram,) showing the composi- 
tion of seaweed — that they contain about 10 per cent, 
of mineral matter. They are exceedingly rich in it, 
as you might suppose from their growing in salt 
water. They contain some 38 per cent, of salt ; 
phosphate of lime is also present in seaweed ; phos- 
phoric acid also. In short, in this form of vegetable 
matter, we have a certain quantity of what crops re- 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 1()7 

quire ; so that if you lay it on land, or plow it in, it j« 
found to be productive of great benefit. 

Besides these forms of green vegetable matter, 
there are many others, which I p;iss over ; but it is 
often applied in a dry state. You know there is a 
form of vegetable matter, such as the husks of grain, 
known as bran, which is given to cattle, pigs, and 
other stock, for food, as well as to fatten them. This 
bran contains much mineral and organic matter, of a 
very rich and fertilising kind, and hence it is often ap- 
plied, instead of feeding it to stock, as a manure, and 
is found to be very beneficial to land, causing it to 
produce very good crops. But there is another form 
of dry vegetable matter, used with us as a manure ; 
it is one of those substances I spoke of last night, 
namely, the cake that is left when oily seeds are 
crushed. This cake contains all the remainder of the 
constituent parts of the seeds, the composition of which 
I showed you last night. The linseed cake is too val- 
uable to be used as a manure ; but the rape cake, 
which cannot be much eaten by cattle, is extensively 
employed as a manure, and with great effect. 

Perhaps I may use this as an illustration of the 
mode in which our farmers in England profit by high 
manuring, and though it may seem to partake of the 
nature of speculation, it is an adventure which is cer- 
tain in its results. Suppose here are two farmers, oc- 
cupying two farms, cultivating each forty acres of 
wheat. The one plows and manures his land in the 
ordinary way, and the wheat comes up like his neigh- 
bors ; the other, after plowing and sowing, leaves the 



168 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

rest to Providence. He does not trouble himself, ex- 
cept perhaps to take out the weeds, leaving his crops 
to the influence of the seasons. But the other man 
does more ; as soon as the grain is up, or when it be- 
gins to shoot, he applies a quantity of rape cake. 
This is over and above what the other man does to 
his land ; and for his crops, he gets perhaps fifty shil- 
lings' worth of wheat for forty shilhngs' worth of rape 
dust — besides a great quantity of straw. This is the 
way in which our farmers, by high farming, make 
money. It is laying out money, in fact, to get it back 
with interest in another form ; and you will readily 
see what I have often seen, wherever I go, that the 
man who farms highest, makes the most money. 

Animal Manures. 

I pass now to the subject of animal manures. This 
is of various kinds, consisting of parts of animals ; 
blood and flesh are often employed as manure. In 
some parts of the world, it is dried, and sold in a dried 
state ; sometimes it is dried by artificial heat, and ap- 
plied in a dry powder, and is an exceedingly fertihs- 
ing substance. So with the flesh of animals ; dead 
animals are often buried, as a manure. So the refuse 
of animals is employed, more or less, as a manure. 
You know the composition of the muscle of animals. 
It contains 77 per cent, of water — a solid beef , steak 
contains that amount of water. It will surprise you, 
perhaps, to know that the blood in your veins, as well 
as in animals, contains the same quantity of water 



TO THE nOCTRINE OF MANURES. 1 G9 

that the muscle does, and differs from tlie flesh in no 
degree. Dry flesh has exactly the same composition 
as the blood. Burn them both, and the mineral mat- 
ter left is nearly the same. The ash of the blood and 
of the flesh contains phosphoric acid and phosphate of 
lime in large quantities. Both, therefore, are ex- 
tremely fertilising, as they contain the mineral matter 
that the plant requires ; and the organic matter that 
burns away is identical with the gluten of the vegeta- 
ble, and supplies the nitrogen of which the gluten is 
built up. 

Fish, in many parts of the world, are employed as 
a manure. On the sea coast in this State, and other 
North-Eastern States, fish are employed extensively 
as a manure. Muscles, in England, are often buried 
in the soil as a manure. Sprats, also, are obtained in 
great quantities, and employed in the same manner. 
Among other interesting things I have learned in the 
State of Connecticut, is the fact, that fish are obtained 
there in large quantities, and are now manufactured 
into a fish cake. The oil is expressed, and the cake is 
dried, and is found to be exceedingly fertilising, con- 
sisting of animal matter and bones, with a little oil re- 
maining in it. I understand that it is intended to ex- 
port it to Liverpool. I believe it will find a ready 
market there. Shell fish is another form of animal 
matter, applied as a manure. In some parts of North- 
ern America, the muscle is found in great abundance 
in the mud banks on the coast. Tn Engknd, we use 
them as I have said; so on the coast of New Bruns- 
wick, and on the borders of Maine. These muscles 



170 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

are obtained and plowed in. So with sea mud ; that 
is a fertilising substance. I have explained to you, in 
a previous lecture, how it is that this alluvial mud is 
so rich, and you will recollect how large a quantity 
of animal matter it contains. 

But among the forms of animal matter most exten- 
sively employed in England, where agriculture forms 
a species of trade, or profession, which is pursued 
w4th great intelligence and skill, are bones, and they 
are applied with great benefit. Hair and woolen 
rags are different forms of the same thing. The ani- 
mal matter of the bones is exceedingly rich in nitro- 
gen, and capable of supplying those substances which 
the root of the plant can take in and enable it to build 
up the gluten, of which it so largely consists. I shall 
presently discuss the use of bones in various forms, 
when on the subject of mineral manures. The farm- 
yard manure, as it is called, the compost which the 
farmer applies to his land, is another form of manure, 
which is very rich when properly treated. It is often 
poorer than it should be, owing to a want of attention 
to his own interest which the farmer sometimes ex- 
hibits. I cannot enter now into the mode in which 
this manure is employed, but will make one observa- 
tion in regard to it. When it ferments, the straw and 
other such matters contained in it, become more solu- 
ble, so that when the rain falls on it, the liquid that 
oozes from it is exceedingly rich in all the fertilising 
substances which the heap contains, especially the 
phosphoric acid. Here is a table, (pointing to a dia- 
gram,) showing the composition of the draining of 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 171 

such heaps. It contains mineral matter in large quan- 
tities, the phosphate of lime greatly predominating. 
But I pass over this, and draw your attention only 
to two facts in regard to the manure produced in this 
manner. 

First, as to the effect which the kind of food which 
the animal gets, has on this manure. I have said that 
to sustain the body of the animal when full grown, or 
to build it up when not full grown, or to increase the 
muscle for the market, the food which the animal gets, 
supplies certain materials ; but that after these mate- 
rials are taken out, by the operation of the stomach, 
all the rest is rejected by the animal. Now, if the 
food is very rich, and supplies more of this nourishing 
matter than the body requires, the richer the drop- 
pings of the animal, and the richer the manure of the 
farmyard, than when the contrary is the case. This 
is so well understood by cattle feeders and those who 
have poor lands to cultivate, that they feed cattle high, 
simply to produce a rich manure. This is done, not 
directly for gain, tlfough the cattle are sold to the 
butchers, for they often do not pay for the oil cake on 
which they are fed. 

Our Norfolk farmers sometimes feed out a ton of 
oil cake a-day to their cattle ; not to make money by 
the sale of the cattle, but indirectly, through the 
richness of the manure obtained by it. In Lancashire, 
where there was a large tract of very poor land 
which thirty years ago was a complete moor, in the 
middle of which was erected a high tower, so that the 
traveler might know where he was, this great moor 



172 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

is now reclaimed and cultivated, and pa}- s 20 shillings 
re>;t annually, per acre. But it is kept in this state of 
cultivation by this high farming. They keep cattle, 
feed them with oil cake, and though the cattle may 
not be worth half the oil cake used in feeding, yet 
they obtain in this way a manure, which enables them 
to raise barley and wheat crops, sustain their families, 
pay their rent, and lay by something. 

Another consideration is the form in which the food 
is given to the animal. I explained last night, that 
feeding is carried on with most profit, when the food 
is prepared, various kinds being mixed up together. 
That is found to cause the oil cake to go further in the 
production of a rich and bulky manure. Here let 
me call your attention to an important point. You 
know that from an early period it has been taken for 
granted that vegetable substances are richer as a 
manure, after passing through the animal, than when 
applied in their natural condition. If you take a ton 
of the droppings of the horse and the cow, in a fer- 
mented state, it is far more valuable as a manure, than 
a ton of the substance with which the animal is fed, 
though it b i oats, or other rich food. Every man 
knows that. Now, this fact was early presented to 
me for an explanation, and having satisfied myself of 
the fact, the reason suggested itself. I have shown 
you that all the different kinds of food given to 
animals contain a certain amount of mineral matter, 
which the plant contains ; it contains that form of 
matter, called gluten, which is rich in nitrogen and 
starch also. Suppose an animal is fed on wheat, 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 173 

which contains a great quantity of starch, gluten, and 
mineral matter ; when the animal undoes what the 
plant had done, that is, converts the starch into 
carbonic acid and water, by the action of the lungs, 
it separates the starch, which, in wheat, forms more 
than half of its weight, and all the other matter — the 
mineral matter and the gluten become changed into an- 
other form of matter, and what the animal rejects is 
richer in saline matter, and in the material that contains 
nitrogen than the food in its original state. It con- 
tains double the quantity of nitrogen. This is a very 
beautiful and interesting fact, showing that by the 
digestive organs of the animal, you can obtain a 
manure richer than the vegetable and green food, if 
applied directly to the"surface. Another point : The 
animal grinds down the food into a minute state with 
its teeth, and it is thus converted into a substance 
more available to fertilise the soil, than the dry straw 
or hay which it eats, if applied directly to the soil 
without mastication. 

Among other forms of the droppings of animals, 
those of birds are employed in large quantities. But 
among the kinds of this form of matter, most exten- 
sively employed, is what is called the "guano." In 
England, something like 100,000 tons of South- 
American guano are used every year. It is imported 
at a large expense, and the demand for it is such, that 
the islands near the coast of Africa, and other parts 
of the world, from which it has been taken, have 
become exhausted. The value of this substance, as a 
manure, depends on their containing a large propor- 



174 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

tioii of mineral matter, and of that matter which 
supplies nitrogen and ammonia. Here is the com- 
position, (pointing to a diagram,)* of the different kinds 
of guano. The South-American, it will be seen, con- 
tains, besides animal matter, ammonia and phosphate 
of lime, to the extent of 21 per cent., so that it is very 
rich. There are some varieties of guano, particularly 
one found at the Cape of Good Hope, containing 70 
and even 80 per cent, of the phosphate of lime, the 
animal matter having disappeared by the action of the 
weather. 



Mineral Manures. 

I pass on to the subject of mineral manures. Of 
these, first I shall speak of phosphate of lime. I 
showed you a certain form of mineral phosphate of 
lime, which was capable of being applied to the fer- 
tilising of land. This phosphate of lime is brought in 
the form of bones, from abroad. These bones are 
boiled, crushed, and sold in the form of dust which is 
applied to land, and found to be exeedingly fertilising. 
These bones contain about 33 per cent, of animal 
matter, or cartilage, which will burn away, or when 
boiled forms a glue, phosphate of lime and of magnesia. 
These bones, therefore, are fertilising, because of the 
animal, as well as mineral matter contained in them ; 
hence they will raise good crops where mineral 
phosphates would not, for if the plant requires organic 

* See Nolo K — Appendix. 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 175 

as well as mineral matter, these bones supply it. But 
if the soil is rich in the form of organic matter, which 
supplies nitrogen, then mineral matter, alone, without 
the animal, would be more suitable; but if the soil be 
poor in both, then bones are better than either animal 
or mineral matter alone. This is the explanation of 
the failures of a trial of phosphate alone, or of burnt 
bones, alone, mstead of the natural bone. Some have 
found one better than another, and persons who have 
found the mineral part to produce good effects, have 
assumed that it is the only fertilising substance in the 
bone. Others, have found the converse to be true; and 
the two classes are at loggerheads about it. But both 
are in fact, consistent with each other ; for the bones 
contain two elements, both of which are necessary and 
valuable, and either of which, under certain circum- 
stances, will be fonnd to be so. Bones^are applied, 
not only in a crushed state, but in a fermented state, 
and on the principle that if the food of an animal must 
be in a state in which the animal can digest it, so if 
you put into the soil any substance on which the plant 
is to feed, it must be in a condition to be dissolved by 
water, and thus capable of entering the roots of the 
plant. That this may be so, bones are boiled and 
applied to land, in that state ; for it is found that a 
bone when crushed will remain for years in the land, 
apparently unchanged. In Manchester, England, 
bones are used in the manufacture of glue, which 
forms a sizing for fabrics. The bones thus boiled 
come out soft, full of water. They are then easily 
crushed, and decompose easily when put into the soil. 



176 ilEi>ATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

But to secure the easy dissolution of bones in the soiJ, 
fermentation has been introduced. The crushed 
bones, being mixed up with earth and allowed to 
ferment until the mass is reduced to a fine powder. 
This method is found greatly to facilitate the growth 
of crops. Thus a small quantity of the dust goes 
further than in the other form. But, there is one form 
in which bones are used with great profit ; that is, 
when dissolved in sulphuric acid. The pulp is dried, 
sometimes mixed with gypsum, powdered and applied 
to the growth of turnips and with great efiect. In 
England and Scotland, it is the only manure for the 
turnip. But these dissolved bones are applied as a 
top-dressing for wheat and other grain, and when 
strewed over the surface are found to be very effect- 
ual. I may mention one instance, where 600 lbs. of 
dissolved bones were applied to a crop of wheat and 
the product was raised from 29 to 53 bushels an acre. 
Farmyard manure applied under the same circum- 
stances, raised the product to within six bushels of 
that amount per acre. This is an illustration of the 
superior effect of this bone manure. Bones are 
applied in this form to the grass lands of Cheshire, 
England, and with great profit. The lands there 
have been under dairy husbandry for many centuries. 
You will recollect, that the substances contained in 
milk, when burned, are some of them, the very ma- 
terials which the bones leave when burnt. The cow 
extracts them from the soil on which she feeds, and it 
appears again in the milk, as is found by analysis. 
This has been going on for centuries, and this con- 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 177 

tinual drain of the soil, going on, it became impover- 
ished. But the application of the bone was found to 
produce remarkable effects in restoring the soil, 
though the principle was not understood. The 
explanation, however, is found in the fact, that the 
milk and the bones, contained essentially the same 
substances, and that the latter restored to the soil, 
what had been taken from it by the animal. Here 
you see an illustration of the application of the know- 
ledge acquired by the analysis of the bones and of the 
milk, to practical husbandry. The discovery of the 
value of this kind of manure, applied to the grass 
lands of Cheshire, may be estimated from the fact' that 
lands which once paid 5 shillings an acre of rent, have 
been made to yield 40 shillings rent, besides a good 
profit to the dairyman. You see from this, how 
important it is to know the effects of certain kinds of 
husbandry upon land. Dairy husbandry produces a 
special exhaustion of the soil, and knowing this, and 
what substances have been taken out of the soil and 
carried off in the shape of milk, you know what to put 
in to reclaim it. 

I have alluded to the circumstance that mineral 
phosphates are found in certain geological formations, 
and the mode in which they are employed, when dis- 
solved in sulphuric acid, as a manure. This is manu- 
factured and sold with us, in England, under the 
name of super-phosphate of lime, and, as I have told 
you, it is made and used with great profit, both to the 
manufacturer and the farmer. 

Amonor the other mineral manures, this consists 



178 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

only of phosphoric acid and lime ; but among the mi- 
neral manures which supply the plant with all that it 
requires, I have a fourth class of artificial mineral 
manures, which can be made by putting together the 
substances which the plant is found to contain. The 
tables which I have shown you exhibit, in the compo- 
sition of different crops, the mineral matters which 
they take from the soil. I contrasted the exhaustion 
produced by the tobacco plant with that produced by 
wheat and barley. Now, to restore land by artificial 
manures, which has been specially exhausted by 
any of these crops, I must make up a manure which 
shall contain the substances which they take from the 
soil, and in like proportions ; and thus, by especial 
manures, I can restore to the land exactly what the 
crops have removed ; or if I want to vary the crops, 
I vary the composition of the manure accordingly. 
In the second edition of my Lectures, (exhibiting the 
book,) the first of which has been printed in ibis coun- 
try, I have published a series of recipes, by which 
special manures may be compounded for all the crops 
we are in the habit of raising, and which have been 
made up from the results of experience and analyses, 
and which you will find worth your attention. 

Experimental agriculture is a branch now in its in- 
fancy ; but what has been done has been sufficient to 
excite inquiry and induce experiments, with a view to 
determine the effect of this and that substance, when ap- 
plied to this or that crop, under different circumstances. 
These recipes to which I allude have been tried, but 
not always with success, because not applied with 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 179 

care. Now, to make any advance in this department 
of knowledge, we must have experiments made in the 
field as accurately as in the laboratory. I have taken 
up this subject, and had just prepared, before I left 
home, a book on Experimental Agriculture, a volume 
of which has been sent me here. It is a history or 
review of the experiments which have been made; 
and the suggestions drawn from them, as to what 
should be done to open this new field of research. It 
is exceedingly interesting to find theoretical results 
practically exemplified and tested by actual experi- 
ment, as in the case I have mentioned of the applica- 
tion of bones to the grass lands of Cheshire. But after 
all, the result to which it is necessary to look, in these 
days^ is that which shall enlist the largest number in 
favor of these researches — namely, the result which 
puts the most money in the pocket of the farmer. 
This is the point with reference to which experiments 
must be carried on. This will be the object of the 
succeeding volume of my book, in which the results of 
succeeding experiments will be given, in improving 
the condition of the soil. 

I must pass over the application of lime as a ma- 
nure, and several other matters connected with this 
subject. It is an interesting department of study. 
The subject of lime alone, of which I intended to 
speak, might form the subject of two or three very 
interesting lectures, but I cannot go into it. 

Now you cannot fail to see from this course of lee- 



180 RELATIONS OF CHEMISTRY 

tures, the strictly scientific part of which I bring to a 
close this evening, that there is an exceedingly wide 
and extended application of science to the farmer's art, 
and that this is not merely theoretical, but has a posi- 
tive and practical bearing upon the method by which 
the farmer may increase his crops and his profits. 
The last four lectures are more or less connected, as 
the same chemical principles are comprehended in 
them all. You must have seen how closely connected 
are the diflferent departments of the farmer's art, and 
how many beautiful relations subsist between that art 
and the connection of man with the earth on which he 
lives — the connection, in fact, of all life, animal and 
vegetable, with the present state of things. You will 
recollect the interesting facts I have mentioned, show- 
ing the intimate connection between the circulation 
of the blood, and vegetable as well as animal life. 
You recollect the striking fact that the plant extracts 
the carbonic acid from the air and the animal destroys 
it, reconverting it into carbonic acid and water. Sup- 
pose this cycle should cease, and that either the plant 
or the animal should not perform these functions, it is 
obvious that all animal and ves^etable life must cease. 
But in the larger cycle — namely, that subsisting be- 
tween the soil, the plant, and the animal, it will have 
been seen that the interruption of the functions of 
either would destroy all vegetable and animal life. 
There is a still larger view of this subject which com- 
prehends the contemplation of the earth as one of a 
system of bodies revolving around the sun ; the sun 
traversing space and the earth, and all the planets ac- 



TO THE DOCTRINE OF MANURES. 181 

companying it. As a member of the system, it is of 
no consequence whether its surface is covered with 
animal or vegetable life. All animal and vegetable 
life might cease upon this earth, and yet the earth con- 
tinue its revolutions unchanged, and the system of the 
universe would not be affected. Gentlemen, we are 
not essential parts of the universe, but mere accesso- 
ries, placed here at the will of the Almighty for pur- 
poses of His own, which we can, perhaps, in some de- 
gree fathom, and so far, it is our duty to follow them 
out. If the Deity has made all these things which 
adorn the earth, animal as well as vegetable, and 
above all has placed man as part of the system, I can- 
not help thinking, that it is His will that we should in- 
vestigate them, and see, if we can, why He has put 
them before our eyes and under our feet. These in- 
vestigations furnish congenial employment for intelli- 
gent man, and result in substantial rewards. But 
among them, none yield more substantial returns than 
those which belong to the intellectual cultivator of the 
soil, who studies nature in order to render the soil 
more fertile, and contribute to the happiness of the 
human familv. 



LECTURE IX. 



MEANS BY WHICH GENERAL SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE MAY 
BE DIFFUSED, AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE IM- 
PROVEMENT OF PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE, AND THE 
GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 

Gentlemen : I take it for granted, that you are all 
satisfied of the importance of scientific research to 
practical agriculture. If satisfied of this, you must 
be also of the importance of diffusing a knowledge of 
the results of such researches, especially among prac- 
tical farmers. 

There are two objects we may have in view, in our 
desire to shed such knowledge. 1st. The improve- 
ment of the agriculture of the State, or along with 
this, the elevation, intellectually and socially, of the 
agricultural community. All members of the com- 
munity are interested in the first of these objects, or 
ends, namely, the general improvement of the agri- 
culture of the State, and a large class are especially 
interested in the second, which looks to the elevation 
morally, intellectually, and socially, of the agricultu- 
ral community. In regard to the first of these objects. 



ELEVATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 183 

the general improvement of the agriculture of the 
State, before we form any idea of what should be 
done, it is desirable to know what is the actual con- 
dition of agriculture now. I must ask you to judge 
of the condition of agriculture by the tests which I 
shall name. By the condition of the roads in the 
agricultural districts ; the kind of rotation practised 
throughout the State ; the kind of stock reared, and 
the mode of feeding them ; the extent of land unculti- 
vated, or poorly cultivated, compared with the density 
of the population. 

You can only obtain accurate notions on this sub- 
ject, by actual observation. I have not seen enough 
of your State, to form an opinion of its agricultural 
character ; nor have I any data from which to form 
an opinion, though I have heard and read much on 
the subject. But there is one mode we have within 
our reach, and of which I propose to speak, and that 
is, the average produce of the land. To a person 
unacquainted with the country, from personal obser- 
vation, such data are generally very decisive indica- 
tions of the state of its practical agriculture ; at the 
same time, it is necessary to take into consideration, 
with the average product, the physical geography of 
a country, its geological structure, its climate, (fee. ; 
but supposing him to know all this, he could form an 
accurate notion of the agricultural condition of a 
country from its products, and by comparing these 
with those of other countries. I have the average 
product of New York, as shown by the last census, 
which is the best data I have. The average product 



184 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

per acre of this State, as so shown, is of wheat, 14 
bushels ; of oats, 26 bushels; of barley, 11 bushels ; 
of rye, 9| bushels, and of Indian corn, 25 bushels per 
acre. These results are given as the average pro- 
duct of the State, in one of the volumes of your 
Transactions. In one of the volumes of Professor 
Emmons' Natural History of the State, I find another 
series of averages, a little less than these ; but I adopt 
the larger ones. Now, I believe there are few per- 
sons, acquainted with the early history of this State, 
who will not tell you that the average returns were 
formerly far greater than now. In fact, you may 
judge what the product of New York once was, from 
the present product of New Brunswick. According 
to returns, the average product of that country is, of 
wheat, 19 bushels per acre; of oats, 34 bushels; of 
barley, 20 bushels ; of rye, 20 bushels ; of Indian 
corn, 41 bushels per acre. 

Now, I can very well judge of the former product 
of New York from these results obtained in New 
Brunswick ; for, when I discoursed on the relations 
of geology to agriculture, I demonstrated, from the 
character of the soil of the two countries, as shown 
by the geological map, that, generally speaking, the 
western portion of New York was naturally more 
fertile than a large portion of New Brunswick, and, 
therefore, I conclude that the average product of 
New Brunswick is far below what was formerly the 
case in New York. 

It may be interesting to you to present to you the 
average product of Ohio. In the northern part of 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 185 

Ohio, after a cultivation of 20 years, the average re- 
turns are scarcely half w^hat they v^ere when first 
settled, showing that the soil there is in the course of 
gradual exhaustion. The averages for the year 
1848, which I find in the Transactions of the Agri- 
cultural Society of that State, are as follows : — Of 
wheat, 15 bushels per acre , barley, 34 ; oats, 33 ; 
rye, 16 ; Indian corn, 41. 

You see, therefore, that, in Ohio, the condition of 
things is nearly the same, so far as wheat and oats 
are concerned, as in New York ; barley and rye are 
greater, and corn much greater — many parts of that 
State being peculiarly favorable to the growth of 
Indian corn. 

I have also here the average products of each of 
the United States ; but I see I have not put down 
the general average for the whole. It is enough, 
however, for our purpose to say, that the average 
product of this State is about the average of Ohio, 
and that both States are sailing in the same boat ; and 
that if you go on here in the same process of exhaus- 
tion, you will soon compete with that State. 

Compare, for a moment, with these statistics, the 
crops in England. The average product there is, of 
wheat 21 bushels. It is proper, however, to say 
here, that we, in England, have no statistics, and that 
this is altogether guess-work. Our censuses give us 
no statistics of agricultural products ; our farmers 
also, are very jealous about giving information on 
these points ; they have rents to pay, and they natu- 
rally think that if they sfive in large returns, thev 



186 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

will have to pay larger rents ; and that is one reason 
why we never have this data. Hence, the results I 
give you are but approximations. From the best in- 
formation, the results are these : Wheat, 21 bushels 
per acre ; oats, 35 ; barley, 32. That is all I can 
give you of the product of England. The averages 
of Scotland are these : Wheat, 30 bushels per acre ; 
oats, 46 ; barley, 40. These results are on the best 
quality of land. 

I believe there is no reason to doubt that what has 
been produced in England and Scotland might be 
produced in New York. I infer this, not only from 
comparing the character of both countries, but from 
the fact that the prize crops, annually competed for 
in your State, are larger than those given as the 
averages in England and Scotland. I have a table- 
of the amount of premium crops in 1846, and they 
range thus : Wheat, 56 bushels an acre ; that is, the 
highest ; Indian corn, 142 bushels — the average is 
only 25; oats, 106 bushels. This is all I have of the 
premium crops. Now, these are maximum results. 
I may state that in England we have crops of wheat 
as high as 88 bushels ; of barley, 80 bushels ; and of 
oats, 108, Indian corn we do not grow. 

I regard this as certain, that if the climate and 
local circumstances are the same, what one soil will 
produce, science may enable another soil to produce ; 
and that it is reasonable that the farmer who exer- 
cises a proper degree of skill in the culture of the soil, 
has a right to anticipate the same degree of success 
as has attended like efforts in other countries, having 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 187 

similar advantages of soil and climate. If certain 
parts of your country, which have a given geologi- 
cal character, will produce these large premium 
crops, I have mentioned, it is fair to presume that 
other parts of the State, having the same advantages 
of soil and climate, should produce the same results. 
This is the point which all interested in agriculture 
hope for and desire, and wish you to aid them in 
attaining. 

One point of view I might have pressed on you in 
regard to our agriculture in Great Britain, which is, 
that our farmers fancy they suffer from the competi- 
tion of the grain-growing districts of this country ; 
they believe you can produce corn, (grain,) cheaper 
than they can ; whether you can produce more from 
the same quantity of land, is another question. I do 
not think you can, but you are likely to be seriously 
affected by the competition of the Western States. 
You are therefore in a condition similar to, or ap- 
proaching that of England, and you will have to 
compete with the rich virgin lands, though already 
somewhat exhausted, and you must do something to 
compete successfully. 

In what way are you to compete successfully with 
those new and fertile regions ? You can only do it 
by raising larger crops from the same quantity of 
land, without more labor, and of course at less cost. 
In the introduction of improved agricultural imple- 
ments, which, in England, is a matter of very great 
interest, you have perhaps an advantage over the more 
remote states. But your object should be, to grow a 



188 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

larger quantity of grain on the same surface and at a 
less relative cost than before. In this v^^ay, we, in 
England, hope to compete with New York and the 
richest of the western prairies. 

How is this to be done ? Nothing can be done in this 
direction unless effort is stimulated by necessity. 
Hence, because the necessity with us at home, is 
great, we shall do something ; and so here, as the ne- 
cessity becomes greater, you will make more effort to 
compete with those districts, and when you do this, 
and not till then, will you be successful. How is this 
to be done ? Those who possess the most knowledge 
will be sure to distance those who compete with them, 
if that knowledge be combined with prudence and 
discretion ; for it is often thrown in the teeth of the 
scientific farmer, that those who have gone before 
him,have all failed. But the truth is, that those cases 
pointed at as illustrations of the unsuccessful results 
of scientific firming have been generally those of mere 
enthusiasts, who had little practical knowledge, and 
who, along with science, did not apply that common 
sense with which prudent men always conduct their 
affairs. Knowledge must be applied to the improve- 
ment of the soil, if we hope to succeed. I think I have 
shown during these lectures, that we do possess the 
knowledge which is capable of growing larger crops 
at a cheaper rate. Now, if we possess this knowledge, 
it must be diffused to be applied ; no matter what 
knowledge there may be in books, or in the heads of 
a few men, unless it be diffused among men who can 
apply that knowledge among the farmers, it is com- 
paratively useless. 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 189 

There are many ways of diffusing knowledge, and 
among these is the establishment of agricultural socie- 
ties. The establishment of agricultural libraries is 
another means of diffusing knowledge among farmers. 
Though in our country farmers are not generally read- 
ing men, still there are always a few men in agricul- 
tural communities everywhere, who do read, and are 
anxious to improve themselves in this branch of 
knowledge, and it is desirable in this view, that libra- 
ries, containing agricultural works, should be estab- 
lished. Their ideas and their knowledge, like a pillar 
of fire, become as it were, centres, from which light 
radiates all around. Among us, in England, there are 
organised farmers' clubs, in subordination to agricul- 
tural societies, where agricultural topics are discussed. 
We have also lectures occasionally, given sometimes 
in stated places, which are well attended, and by 
which knowledge is diffused. In the matter of agri- 
cultural periodicals, I do not think we have anything 
better than yours. Some of those published in this 
country are exceedingly good, and are well known in 
Europe. These are important instruments in the dif- 
fusion of sound knowledge on this subject. But I pass 
over all this, and come to the only other mode of 
diffusing this knowledge, and that is, by means of 
agricultural schools. 



f 



^ Agricultural Schools. 

It is extraordinary, how little has been done for the 
diffusion of agricultural knowledge in this way — how 



190 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE -^^ 

long a time has elapsed in every country, before it \ 
has been found necessary to establish schools for this 
purpose. It is also remarkable what applause has 
been bestovi^ed on those countries which first intro- 
duced this system, and who did the little that was 
done, during the last century, in that direction. What 
was done in Switzerland and Prussia made a great 
noise at the time ; but they did little after all. It is 
also remarkable that in those countries in Europe 
which have made the highest advancement in national 
education, how slowly they avail themselves of the 
means of instruction in this branch of knowledge. I 
hope and believe that the absence of -those old habits 
and prejudices which so much restrain and retard the 
progress of such knowledge in Europe will not retard 
its diffusion, among the more enlightened population 
of the New World. 

But there are causes at work in the Old World, 
which, under all the efforts to diffuse agricultural 
knowledge, have retarded its diffusion by such means. 
We have schools for agricultural instruction, in all its 
grades ; yet we find that in the neighborhood of these 
schools, not only is knowledge not diffused among 
the peasantry, but both they and the lands they culti- 
vate, are in the most miserable condition possible. In 
my address at Syracuse, I alluded to some results in 
France and Bavaria, where in the latter particularly 
they have agricultural schools, model farms, agricul- 
tural societies, and agricultural instruction in the com- 
mon schools ; yet the agriculture of Bavaria is of a 
grade among the lowest in all Germany. So in 






AGIUCULTURAI. CLASS. 191 

France, where agriculture is in a bad condition, there 
is an agricultural university, and there are central 
agricultural schools in all the provinces. Instruction 
is also given to the peasantry in the communes. 
Therefore, though instruction in this branch of art is 
slow in being introduced, we are not to infer from 
the existence of schools in any country that agricul- 
ture is in a flourishing condition there, nor are we to 
infer the contrary from the absence of these schools. 
In Scotland there does not exist a single agricultural 
school, yet its agriculture is in a high state. In Eng- 
land, where ten years ago there were no such schools, 
agriculture ranks next to that of Scotland. These 
instances, and those I have cited in France and Bava- 
ria, show the fact, that these schools existing in any 
country, afford no information as to the state of its 
agriculture. 

Hence, in giving instruction in schools on agricul- 
tural subjects, experience in all countries that I have 
any knowledge of, shows that there are certain things 
to be attended to. First, it is necessary to avoid as 
far as possible the inculcation of organic changes in 
existing methods and institutions. You know how 
difficult it is to introduce anything new at all into our 
schools or seminaries. If you go for a great deal 
you get nothing ; if you ask only for a small portion 
of time, or give a little additional labor to the school- 
master, requiring no new machinery to carry it out, 
then you are more likely to succeed, than if you at 
once demand, as some have, a large portion of the 
time, both of the pupil and the master in imparting 



192 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

new instruction. I do not know how far this caution 
may be necessary in this country, but as prudent 
men, you would naturally adopt that course; as you 
would find that the introduction of such instruction 
would be more generally acceded to if you ask only 
what is necessary, and do not hurry on in advance of 
public sentiment. 
/ ' To give you an idea of the manner in which this thing 
has been managed with us, I will state what provision 
has been made for agricultural instruction in Great 
Britain and Ireland. There are not many agricultural 
schools in England, but there are a good many in 
Ireland. We have no special agricultural schools in 
Scotland. In England and Ireland, the principles of 
agriculture were first introduced into the elementary 
schools, I say the principles, for you cannot expect 
to find a schoolmaster who can instruct his pupils in 
i practical agriculture. In general, his education does 
[ not fit him for it, and it is therefore better in the 
I elementar}^ schools to undertake nothing beyond 
"^ instruction in the principles of agriculture, (^"^y 
principles, I mean those results to which scientific 
investigation has arrived ; for instance, if I say that 
all substances which contain nitrogen in a certain 
state, are more or less useful to vegetation, that is a 
principle — a fact, which is the result of experiment 
and research ; that is one principle. If. again, I say 
that all substances contain phosphate of lime, which 
forms a great part of the bones of animals, is capable 
of being useful to the growth of crops, I announce 
another principle, which is the result of a great many 



AGRICULTURAL CI-ASS. 193 

investigations. Thus I can state principles of this 
kind, which a boy can readily learn. It is such prin- 
ciples as these, that it is desirable to give in elemen- 
tary schools, and when presented in brief terms, is 
never forgotten, and the boy when he goes out upon 
the farm recollects it ; he casts about for these sub- 
stances, and if they are applied to the soil, he knows 
what the results will be ; for this is a procedure 
which is regulated altogether by a knowledge of 
principles. To fit the schoolmaster for teaching 
agricultural principles, the study has been introduced 
into our normal schools in England, Scotland, and 
Ireland, as a regular branch of instruction, and the 
schoolmaster now goes out able to give instruction, 
which will qualify the boy to become master of the 
principles in a short time. ~^ 

-,^ I So there are established in England in some of the 
\ /grammar schools, and in some private academies, 
■ under the direction of individuals, agricultural depart- 
ments, where instruction is given in the different / 
( branches of natural science bearing on agriculture, 
j and some knowledge also of practice obtained, not by 
> a farm attached to the institution, but from the farms 
i in the neighborhood. Within the last two years, I 
I established a school at Camelford, converting a 
grammar school into it. The farmers of the district, 



around, open their farms to the inspection of the ')( 

pupils, who availed themselves of the opportunity to ' i 

view these farms at stated times, and observed all the j 
|V,processes going on, particularly in the labor also, and 

thus were enabled to get a practical knowledge of / 



194 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

the subject, which very much facilitated the efforts of i 
the master to explain the theory of w^hat they saw \ 

going on around them. — " 

"^We have also special agricultural schools in dif- 
ferent parts of Ireland ; there they were established 
before they were in Great Britain. You know from 
the condition of Ireland, how desirable there a diffusion 
of such knowledge must be among the agricultural 
classes, and how important it must be to teach them 
how small farms may be made to yield great returns. 
These agricultural schools have been found tqjbe 
productive of great benefits. The school of Temple 
Moyle has a large number of pupils, who are made to 
till the farm attached to it, thus applying practically 
the knowledge obtained in the school, and the result 
has been that the whole expense of maintaining the 
pupils, amounted to but £11 a year each, or about 
$50, the farm paying all the rest of the expense of 
maintaining the institution, with the addition of sorne^ 
subscriptions raised in the locality.7 Now we have 
special agricultural schools established by a national 
board of education — they have introduced into them 
the little catechism of which I have before spoken, in 
which the principles of agriculture are stated in a 
brief and clear manner. It is found that the boys 
never forget them, and are never at a loss how to 
apply them. They have also established district 
agricultural schools, and have made provision to fit 
teachers for them. A model farm has been attached 
to the normal school near. These are all schools 
established under the government in Ireland. We 



AGRICULTURAL, CLASS. 195 

have no such schools in Great Britain established by 
the national board of education, but there, too, the 
'L study has been introduced in the common schools. 
n But we have in England an agricultur d college estab- 
f lished within a few years. ^TSTx or eight years ago7arN 
school was projected at Cirencester ; it had great 
difficulties to contend with at the outset, and one , 
great difficulty was the apathy and indifference of the i 
farmers themselves. Instruction was cheap there, 
but the farmers did not avail themselves of it. During 
the first years of its existence, ouLof^tQltj.^upilsj_oiilj_ 
eiffht were son s of farmers. But that state of things | 
i is fa^t_disappearing, and a desire for this kind of 
j knowledge„hai! grown- strongea:. It has now about 
one hundred pupils, and the institution continues to / 

flourish more and more every year. ^^ ' 

Having given you this account of what we are doing 
in England and Irel and, you see that we have done 
little as yet, and that we have experienced little or no 
benefit from agricultural education ; but we have 
come to a state, when we must, from necessity, get 
this education, in order to compete with you. <„ 

'^ You propose to do certain things here in New York, *^ 
and here allow me to make one or two remarks. t | 
has been proposed to establish an agricultural college, j 
As to this, I have no doubt whatexer^ ^A js a ! 

proper measure to take ; as it is proper in England so 
ills in New Yor¥. This should be done so soon as you 
are able to accomplish it — it is a right thing to aim at. 
The difficulty does not lie in establishing the institu- j 
lion, but in the details ; you should be cautious that 



196 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

1 in the details you adopt no rash nor hasty measureSj 
f but act with discretion and judgment. Your efforts 
i should not be divided ; you should set out with the j 
I determination to establish the college and nothing / 
j else — I mean nothing else in the way of establishin^y 
\ colleges^ I have been asked whether I thought it 
would not be better to have six small colleges in dif- 
ferent parts of the state. I had not studied the cir- 
cumstances of the State, sufficiently to give advice on 
that point, but whatever these circumstances may be, 
or whatever the intention hereafter, you should not 
propose at the start to do more than establish one 
college, and direct all your efforts to get that in good 
working condition before you attempt another. If 
you fail in one, you certainly would in twenty, if you 
succeed in one, you can then go on and establish more. 
It is of great consequence in reference to the character 
of the State and of the teachers, that you should have 
one good school first. If you were to establish thirty 
colleges in different counties of the State, I should like 
to know where you would get teachers to fill them? 
I do not think you will find in all America sound men 
of knowledge and discretion, who could be safely 
trusted to teach scientific agriculture in thirty schools. 
I do not think they exist in the Union, much less in 
the State of New York. You will act wisely and 
discreetly, if you try to get one institution ; it will be 
useful to your State, and will turn out men to fill up 
any other schools which you may afterwards establish. 
Again, in any building which may be erected for 
this purpose, there should be provision only for what 



tf 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 197 

is likely to be wanted, instead of laying out money in 
erecting buildings to accommodate a large number of 
pupils, who have not come yet; you should begin by 
making room enough only for those who first come, 
and then you can add accommodations, as they are 
found to be necessary. One point I desire to impress 
upon you — excuse the liberty I take — you should 
not encourage the idea that any great and surprising 
results will spring out of this all at once. I have been 
myself the victim of extraordinary expectations. [1 
have been attached to an institution in which persons 

I were interested who had these high- wrought expec- 
tations of what was. to result from it, and who almost 
supposed that one result would be, that gold would 

irise up, as it were, in the pockets of the farmers. 

■ These results not being realised, many concluded that 
science was really of no use in agricultural operations. 
If, after the lapse of years, you can, through this 
college, increase the average product of the State — 
if you can raise the average of wheat, alone, from 14 
to 15 bushels per acre — I ask if this one additional 
bushel only, taking the State through, would not pay 
the cost of the college for ten years? If you can 
raise oats, from 26 to 34 bushels per acre, you will 
have accomplished a great result. But if you expect 
extraordinary results in a few years, either on the 
general agricultural character of the State or its farm- 
ing population, you will be disappointed — not on 
account of the fault of the teachers, or of the system^ 
but because your expectations were too high. As I 
have said, I have myselt been the victim of such ex- 



198 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

pectations ; and I warn you not to stumble over the) 
same stone. If, after the lapse of years, you can raise 
the character of the agricultural community, so that a 
stranger, visiting your farms, finds the younger men 
possessed of greater intelligence than their fathers, 
and applying that knowledge intelligently in practice, 
so that the superior skill and science of the farmers of 
New York are obvious, that will indeed be a proud 
thing for you to see, and for a foreigner to discover 
I and acknowledge. But so great a result cannot be 
\J^ought about in one year — it may take ten yeai^ 
Again : It has been proposed to give instruction in 
scientific agriculture, in the medical colleges of the 
State. All instruction in this branch of knowledge 
should be encouraged ; no attempt should be made to 
put down such measures, if any are on foot. Medical 
men, passing from the college into a rural district, to 
practice their profession, cannot be less useful for 
having a knowledge of scientific agriculture. There- 
fore, in medical schools, encouragement should be 
given to efforts to introduce this branch of study there. 
So in theological schools, the study should be en- 
couraged. Clergymen may exercise a salutary in- 
fluence upon husbandry, as upon good morals ; but 
the great difficulty, is, that the farmers will not send 
their sons to these colleges, and hence the rural schools 
are best adapted to the diffusion, (in the right quarter, 
and directly,) of agricultural knowledge. Besides, if 
they were to go to these colleges, they would be apt 
to learn unsound doctrine. It is not to be expected 
that men, however profound in one department of 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 199 

science, and whose habits of thought and study are 
all in that direction, should be familiar with practical 
agriculture. Hence, they may take up crude notions 
and inculcate them, and do harm, rather than good, 
to the pupils under them. 

It has also been proposed to attach agricultural 
departments to some of the colleges. To that there 
can be no objection ; at the same time, any encourage- 
ment which the State may give to this kind of instruc- 
tion, should be given to the one school by which all 
other schools will be regulated, when once you get it 
fairly organised. There is this difficulty in regard to 
attaching agricultural departments to existing colleges, 
that if this new department is under mere scientific 
men, the proper wants of farmers' sons will not be 
properly looked to. So sensible am I of this, that in 
the suggestions I made to the Legislature at New 
Brunswick, as to the mode of improving its agriculture, 
whilst I recommended an agricultural school at Fred- 
erickton, where there is a college, I have recommended 
that it should not be connected with the college, 
because they are not practical men, and are not 
calculated to give instruction to pupils intended for 
practical life. What is true there, is true all over the 
world. It is necessary that such a school should he in 
charge of men who understand agriculture^ and the 
wants and wishes of agriculturists^ and who know what 
should he done to improve hoth, 

I believe many persons look forward to the intro- 
duction of agricultural instruction into common 
schools, and I think it very important that this should 
10 



200 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

not be lost sight of. In the lower grade of schools, I 
think it most important, and it should commend itself 
to those having the affairs of the State in charge. The 
mass of your countrymen get their instruction in these 
schools. You reach a greater number by introducing 
this study into these schools, and you reach them at 
the least possible expense of money and time. You 
only ask the schooolmaster to give a little time to 
teaching one certain book, selected for its bearing on 
the principles only of agriculture. To facilitate this 
instruction, I drew up my little Catechism. It has 
been introduced extensively into the schools in Great 
Britain, and translated into almost every European 
language. But this obstacle has been found to exist, 
not only at home, but in other countries, and that is, 
the want of qualification or inclination on the part of 
the schoolmaster, to teach. In Scotland, our school- 
masters are well educated men, but they are fixed and 
stationary, pursuing their vocations at one place 
generally all their lives, unless, as is rarely the case, 
some of the more skilful ones are transferred to places 
of greater emolument. These men find no difiiculty 
in introducing this catechism. It has also been intro- 
duced into the schools in England, but there the grade 
of schoolmasters is lower. But we have there national 
schools for the education of teachers, the effect of 
which is, that a race of men are now coming out, 
who are capable of teaching this branch of knowledge. 
The same difficulty exists in Belgium and France, 
where their schoolmasters are not sufficiently in- 
structed themselves to teach it. Of course this obsta- 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 201 

cle is only to be overcome by additional instruction to 
the schoolmasters, and it is a reproach to them, that 
they have so little application or capacity, that they 
cannot learn a catechism which a boy seven years 
old can perfectly understand. I examined a class of 
about a dozen boys, the eldest of whom was fourteen, 
the youngest seven years of age ; the eldest got the 
first prize, the youngest the second. It cannot, there- 
fore, be difficult for a schoolmaster to learn to teach 
these simple principles. 

There is one obstacle, which, in this State, appears to 
me to be one of some difficulty — an obstacle to the 
introduction of this kind of study into the schools, and 
that arises from the unsettled condition of your 
teachers. You have not schoolmasters who perma- 
nently remain in one district ; the trustees engage a 
teacher for a limited time, and then both parties are 
at liberty to quit the engagement. In England, they 
are fixed residents in the parish to which they belong. 
The difficulty here, is therefore, one of some moment. 
It precludes a unity of system, a concentration of 
effort in carrying it out, and it prevents the school- 
master from taking that pride in the progress of his 
pupils, which he would have if he knew that a school 
was to be under his care for years, and he responsible 
for its management. This may stand in your way in 
introducing this study into your common schools, but 
it is not insurmountable, and you would do well to 
inquire how far it is practical to surmount it. 

One or two observations as to the kind of instruc- 
tion which should go into the schools, with a prospect 



202 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

of agricultural improvement. I have told you what 
branches of science tell on agricultural operations, 
and bring out principles applicable to the grov^^ing of 
crops, that the boy can learn in elementary schools ; 
but in learning them, it is necessary to use scientific 
terms. Nitrogen, for instance, might puzzle a. farmer ; 
the boy, therefore, must understand this ; he must be 
shown what it is. So with phosphate of lime ; its na- 
ture must be explained to him, and after that, the boy 
will always attach the right signification to the word, 
understand your principles, and apply them intelli- 
gently. These two words belong to the chemical 
nomenclature ; but in teaching these principles of 
which I have spoken, you do not teach chemistry. If 
I tell the boy that rocks form the different soils, that 
is not teaching geology, but agriculture. As to 
chemistry, I do not object to its introduction into 
schools. I have devoted my life to the study of 
chemistry, and it may well be supposed that I should 
not be averse to it. I am not. So with geology ; it 
is a study in which I feel a deep interest, but I do not 
recommend either on behalf of agriculture. I recom- 
mend agricultural instruction ; and chemistry and 
geology are only necessary to explain the terms used 
in the elucidation of agricultural principles. At the 
same time, I have felt the difficulty of selecting what 
is necessary to teach, and what should be excluded 
from the list of studies. The chemist and the geolo- 
gist teach their peculiar sciences. If they know at the 
same time the principles of practical agriculture, then 
they know what it is necessary to teach, and what 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 203 

not. If you tell a boy any more than is necessary to 
enable him, for instance, to distinguish nitrogen from 
everything else, you only confuse him. In this little 
book, the catechism to which I have referred, there 
are about twenty chemical words, which it is neces- 
sary to explain, and to do this, you must show the pu- 
pil what the substances are which these terms repre- 
sent. Then he can follow you, and then he can un- 
derstand all that is written in this book and the larger 
works. It is only to this extent, that chemistry and 
other sciences ought to be introduced into your com- 
mon schools to teach agriculture. I do not object to 
the introduction of geology, botany, or chemistry, 
but on behalf of agriculture, I do ask for it. I only 
ask, and have asked everywhere, one hour a-week 
during the last year of a boy's tuition, to impress upon 
his mind fully all the elementary principles of practi- 
cal agriculture ; so that little is required to be taught 
in the elementary schools, and this little will produce 
good directly on the boy himself, and indirectly on the 
boy's father. It is remarkable how a man, who is 
most obstinate in resisting any new idea or process in 
regard to agriculture when suggested by a grown up 
man, I say it is very remarkable, how readily he will 
listen to the same thing, coming from the mouth of his 
own son. The boy tells what he learns in the school 
to his father. The father is delighted at the wisdom of 
his own son, and he will allow his son to adopt in prac- 
tice on his farm, what he will not listen to a moment, 
if suggested by a stranger and an adult. What is 
suggested by his son goes through his heart to his 



204 GENERAL ELEVATION OF THE 

head, and that is the way to many people's 
heads. 

Conclusion. 

My time is so far exhausted, that I cannot detain 
you with any further details. 1 will only make one 
other observation, and that is, that it is of great con- 
sequence that a farmer who owns a farm now, should 
make himself familiar with the best methods of im- 
proving the soil, in order to retain his position ; for if 
he does not, another who has more skill, will drive 
him from his position, and take his place. As the son 
generally thinks as the father does, there is no appeal 
stronger to such men as are most unwilling to adopt 
new methods themselves, than that to a father on be- 
half of his child and his future prospects. This is true, 
as a general rule. I know that you have a strong 
desire that your sons should thrive in their professions, 
as parents generally have, that their sons should excel 
in their professions. This you can only do, by giving 
them more knowledge than you have ; as much, at 
least, as the sons of others, bringing up their sons to 
different pursuits. I can make no stronger appeal to 
you, to exert yourselves, to take the proper steps to 
secure that knowledge, if not for yourselves, at least 
for those who are to follow you in the same profes- 
sion. I cannot but think that you will say with the 
old man, who in a remote part of Scotland, attended 
one of my lectures, and drank in, open-mouthed, all 
that I said, and who, after I had concluded, came to 
me with tears in his eyes, and told me he was too old 



AGRICULTURAL CLASS. 



205 



to learn all that, but he would like well to have his 
son learn it. I hope you will all participate in that 
feeling and see to it, that your sons shall not be igno- 
rant of what concerns so nearly their prospects in 
life. 



THE END. 



APPENDIX. 



(A— Page 24.) 

M. BoussiNGAULT, the distinguished French writer upon 
rural economy, proposed, some years ago, a method of 
determining what amount of heat a plant requires, in order 
to be enabled to perform the functions allotted to it by 
nature. This method consisted in determining the length 
of time over which a function extends, and also the mean 
temperature during that period. Thus, if a given plant requires 
twenty days to ripen its seeds after flowering, and the mean 
temperature during that time was 10°, it would be assumed 
that the plant in question requires 200° of heat to complete 
the ripening process. Or, if the period occupied was ten 
days, and the mean heat was 10°, then only 100° of heat 
would be required, and so on. 

Boussingault's method was a great improvement upon the 
previous modes of computation. Observers had been pre- 
viously contented with annual or quarterly, or other long 
means of temperature, as furnishing the elements required to 
determine whether a given plant could be advantageously cul- 
tivated in a given country. But these means were all more or 
10* 



208 APPENDIX. 

less fallacious, and not only led to little practical application, 
but sometimes led to serious practical mistakes. 

Mean temperatures are useless to cultivators unless they 
represent what takes place during the period of vegetation. 
We do not want to know what the temperature is of seasons 
when, or of places where, plants do not grow, unless for the 
purpose of determining the amount of winter protection 
which they may require ; and all indications of climate in which 
the dormant season is mixed with the growing season only mis- 
lead. Suppose, for example, it was to be said that the mean 
annual temperatures of Longville and Bretville are the same, 
(say 35°), this would be no proof of similarity of climate ; 
for Longville might have the winter mean 20°, the summer 
mean 50° ; while Bretville might have the winter mean 30°, 
and the summer mean 40° — cold winters and temperate 
summers characterising one place, mild winters and bad 
summers characterising the other. Nor are daily rneans 
much more useful. Let us suppose that Longville has in 
June a daily mean of 45°, while that of Bretville is 50° ; 
it might be that these means represented hot days and cold 
nights in the one case, and cool days and mild nights in the 
other — conditions which for the purposes of cultivation are 
wholly different. So again, when the temperature of soil is 
assumed to be shown by that of springs ; in such cases the 
indications are fallacious ; for as springs do not take their 
rise in places where vegetation is active, so neither do they 
represent the temperature to which the roots of plants are 
exposed. We want to know the daily, or, at least, the 
monthly temperature of that part of the earth in which the 
roots of plants are placed, not that of deep places in which 
no roots are found. 

Boussingault's method of explaining the relation between 
plants and climate, as an important improvement upon the 



APPENDIX. 209 

usual indications, is not to be denied. But it was not wholly- 
satisfactory. Pushed to its limits, the theory was manifest- 
ly untenable, for it amounted to this — that if a plant re- 
quires twenty days with 10° of heat in each day, or 200° to 
do a certain thing, and if it can do the same thing in ten 
days with 20° degrees of heat in each day, then it ought to 
accomplish the same end in one day by the aid of 200° of 
heat, which is absurd. 

The subject has been lately taken up by Professor Al- 
phonse De Candolle, in an able essay, from which we ven- 
ture to make a few extracts. The learned and ingenious 
author Avholly objects to thermometrical observations, as re- 
presenting truly the heat to which plants are exposed. 
** Plants," he says, " are almost always placed in the sun, and 
all the thermometrical observations from which the temper- 
ature of a country is deduced, are made in the shade. We 
also know that the heat of the solar rays is different accord- 
ing to season, geographical position, height above the sea, 
and various local causes. Consequently 10° of mean tem- 
perature in the shade, for ten days, will correspond, in one 
place, with a certain effect on plants exposed to sunshine, 
and in another place, or at another season, to a greater or less 
effect." 

** Philosophers," he goes on to remark, " who have de- 
sired to determine the amount of solar heat, have always 
used thermometers exposed at the same moment, or succes- 
sively, to shade and sunshine. The differences are always 
great, and connected with season and geographical position ; 
but such differences also depend much upon the nature of 
the thermometer, and on the way in which the bulb receives 
the solar rays during the day, or radiates at night. Some- 
times the bulb has been covered with black wool, a sub- 
stance possessing great absorbing and radiating power. 



210 APPENDIX. 

Sometimes the bulb is naked. One class of observers guard 
it from the action of rain and dew ; others leave it exposed 
to these causes of cooling. The series of observations in the 
Garden of the Horticultural Society of London has been 
made with thermometers covered with black wool — one in 
the shade, another in the sun — compared with a common 
thermometer in the shade. M. De Gasparin, wishing that 
his thermometers should be placed in the same position as 
plants, or at least the uppermost roots of plants, covered 
their bulbs with a millimetre of earth. 

** It appears to me useless to discuss which of these ther- 
mometrical contrivances is the best. I regard them as all 
bad when applied to vegetable life. No one, indeed, can 
suppose that the surfaces of branches or of leaves are 
heated by the sun, or cooled by radiation, in the same way as 
this or that thermometer. We have to deal with solid bodies 
into which heat penetrates slowly, and we compare them 
to liquid mercury where the molecules shift their place as 
they are heated. We have to deal with green surfaces, 
mixed more or less with brown, yellow, &c., and we com- 
pare them with surfaces of one uniform color, sometimes 
very different from green. The shining surface of a leaf 
reflects a part of the light, and we compare it with the 
round bulb of a glass thermometer, or with black wool ; 
neither of which will reflect a single luminous ray. In a 
plant, the cold of night does not force back the leaves nor 
flowers which are formed during the day ; alternations de- 
stroy nothing ; and yet we compare a plant to a thermo- 
meter, in which the retreat of the mercury is calculated 
by subtracting the amount of its previous rise. Finally all 
physiologists know that the chemical part of the solar rays 
has an immense influence upon vegetable tissue, for it is 
this, (independently of heat,) which causes carbonic acid to 



APPENDIX. 211 

be decomposed, and much water to be evaporated through 
the stomates. A luminous ray, almost devoid of heat, must 
certainly exercise its influence. It would, therefore, be use- 
ful to have a measure which shall determine at one and the 
same time both the heating and chemical action of the 
solar rays." 

Hence M. Alphonse De Candolle contends that the only 
logical way of measuring the effect of solar rays upon vege- 
tation is to observe plants themselves, " that is to say, ^q 
compare their growth ; 1, in shade and in sunshine ; 2, un- 
der different degrees of solar intensity, according to season 
and situation." — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



(B— Page 26) 

The ocean pervades a much more uniform temperature 
than the land, far lower than its extreme of heat, and higher 
than its extreme cold. The atmospheric currents that sweep 
over it have this character to some extent impressed upon 
them, and enstamp it upon the physical climate of countries 
situated within the range of their influence. Hence, islands 
and maritime districts have milder climates than regions in- 
land under the same parallels of latitude, the cooler currents 
of air from the ocean, tempering their summer heat, and 
warmer currents moderating their winter cold. 

Again, the depth of the ocean or of a sea, in the vicinity 
of a coast, is another important element in the determination 
of a climate. Great depth of ocean, or sea, in the immediate 
vicinity of an island or coast, has a marked influence in ame- 
liorating the temperature of the adjacent territory. 

Thus the climate of Western Europe, and of the western 



212 APPENDIX. 

parts of the American continent, as well as of many of the 
islands of the Atlantic and Pacific, where the shores are bold 
and the soundings deep, in general, is milder than that of 
countries under the same parallels in the eastern coasts of 
Asia and of America, where the ocean is shoal. 



(C— Page 37.) 

In the event of a union of the Pacific Ocean with the 
Gulf of Mexico, either by natural or artificial means, (volcanic 
action, earthquakes, or canal,) no such apprehension as sup- 
posed by Professor Johnston need ever be entertained. For, 
by actual and reliable measurements, high-water mark at 
Panama, on the Pacific, is 13.55 feet above high water 
at Chagres at the head of the Gulf of Mexico. Half the 
rise and fall of spring tides at Panama, is 10.61 feet, and 
at Chagres only 0.58 feet. Hence, in assuming half the 
rise and fall above the low water of spring tides to be their 
respective mean levels, the mean height of the Pacific at 
Panama, is 3.52 feet higher than that of the Atlantic at 
Chagres. 

As the time of high- water is nearly the same on both 
sides of the Isthmus, at full sea, the Pacific is raised at mean 
tides 10.61 feet, and the Atlantic 0.58 feet above their 
respective levels ; the Pacific is therefore the highest at 
such times by (10.61— 0.58-|-3. 52=) 13.55 feet. 

At low water, both oceans are the same quantities, as in- 
dicated above, below their respective mean levels. At such 
times, then, the Pacific is lower than the Atlantic by 
(10.61—0.58—3.52=) 6.51 feet. 



APPENDIX. 213 

Therefore, if the two oceans were connected by any great 
natural convulsion, or by canal, the result would be directly 
the reverse of that supposed by our lecturer — the Gulf 
Stream would be slightly increased in its volicity, instead of 
being diverted into the Pacific or destroyed. 



(D— Page 39.) 

In Peru, summer commences in November. The rays of 
the sun are refracted on the light grey sandy carpet, and are 
reflected back with scorching power. Every living thing 
which does not quickly escape from their influence is doomed 
to certain destruction. No plant takes root in the burning 
soil, and no animal finds food on the arid, lifeless surface. No 
bird, no insect moves in the burning atmosphere, Only in 
the very loftiest regions, the king of the air, the majestic 
condor, may be seen floating, with daring wing, on his way 
to the sea coast. Only where the ocean and the desert 
blend with each other is there life and movement. Flocks of 
carrion crows swarm over the dead remains of marine ani- 
mals scattered along the shore. Otters and seals impart life 
to the inaccessible rocks ; hosts of coast birds eagerly pounce 
on the fish and mollusca cast on shoie ; variegated lizards 
sport on the sand hillocks ; and busy crabs and sea spiders 
work their way by furrows through the humid coast. 

The scene changes in May. A thin veil of mist then over- 
spreads the sea and the shore. In the following months, the 
thickness of the mist increases, and it is only in October that 
it begins to disperse. In the beginning and at the end of 
the period called winter, this mist commonly rises between 



214 APPENDIX. 

nine and ten o'clock in the morning, and disappears about 
three in the afternoon. It is heaviest in August and Sep- 
tember ; and it then lies for weeks immoveable on the earth. 
It does not resolve into what may be properly called rain, 
but it becomes a fine minute precipitate which the natives 
call garun (thick fog or drizzling rain). Many travelers 
have alleged that there are places on the Peruvian coast 
which have been without rain for centuries. The assertion 
is to a certain degree correct, for there are many districts in 
which there never is rain except after an earthquake, and not 
always even then. 

Though the garua sometimes falls in large drops, still 
there is this distinction between it and rain, that it descends 
not from clouds at a great height, but is formed in the lower 
atmospheric regions, by the union of small bubbles of mist. 
The average perpendicular height over which this fog passes 
does not exceed one thousand two hundred feet ; its medium 
boundary is from 700 to 800 feet. That it is known only 
within a few miles of the sea is a highly curious phenomenon ; 
beyond those few miles it is superseded by heavy rains ; and 
the boundary line between the rain and the mist may be de- 
fined with mathematical precision. I know two plantations, 
the one six leagues from Lima, the other in the neighborhood 
of Huacho ; one half of these lands is watered by the garuas, 
the other half by rain, and the boundary line is marked by a 
wall. 

When the mists set in, the chain of hillocks, (lomas), bor- 
dering the sand flats on the coasts undergoes a complete 
change. As if by a stroke of magic, blooming vegetation 
overspreads the soil, which, a few days previously, was a 
mere barren wilderness. Horses and cattle are driven into 
these parts for grazing, and during several months the ani- 
mals find abundance of rich pasture. There is, however, no 



APPENDIX. 216 

water ; but they do not appear to sufter from the want of it 
for they are always in good healtliy condition on leaving the 
lomas. 

In some parts of Northern Peru, where the garuas are 
scanty, the fertility of the soil depends wholly on the moun- 
tain rains ; for in summer, most of the rivers are dried up. 
When there is a deficiency of rain, the cattle on the coast 
suffer greatly, * * * * At Piura, there is such a total 
absence of dew, that a sheet of paper left for a whole night 
in the open air does not, in the morning, exhibit the smallest 
trace of humidity. In Central and South Peru, the moisture 
scarcely penetrates half an inch into the earth. 

In the oases, the garuas are much heavier than in the adja- 
cent wastes. Along the whole of the coast, there is no rain 
and no vegetation throughout a large circuit. The rain com- 
mences first in the north, at Tumbez, and there extensive 
woods are seen. Toward the east, it begins first in the val- 
leys of the Cordilleras, which abound in vegetation. These 
very extraordinary phenomena remain as yet unexplained - 
they, however, merit the closest investigation of meteorolo 
gists. — Von Tachudi. 



APPENDIX. 



(E— Page 54.) 

COMPOSITION OF THE SLATES AND SHALES OF NEW YORK, AND 
OF OTHER PLACES. 









o 


S 








s 




be 




c 










J 




o ^ 




oP 


o 








Vw 


NAME3. 


-a f 




3 


o 


.S 






o 








•2 -a 






■s 


J 






aj = 


cd 


X c 




c 




en 


JZ 




r. 


O 


B-^ 




M 


O 


iS 


Q. 




3.79 


'rn 
70.55 


c2 
20.35 


o 

0.99 


0.40 


trace 


3.32 


^ 


Hoosic roofing slate, 


Slate from Salem, 


2 62 


■ii.dd 


11.53 


0.60 


0.60 trac*^ 






Waferville (Me.) slate, 


342 


71-62 


23.25 


10 


0.051 0.90 


1.52 




Fairhaven slate. 


2.70 


30.72 


12.76 


1.76 


0.40 


* 




Welch roofing slate. 


2 64 


78.76 


16.64 


0.36 


0.52 






Shale from Cortlandville, 


3.03 


83.50 


12.56 


0.61 


0.30, trace 






Cauda galli grit, 


6.00 


81.54 


7.00 


1.76 


trace 








Marcelius slate, 


4 25 


48.12 


10.00 


36.60 


1.00 








Red slate or shale of the salt 


6.48 


68.86 


14.98 


9.89 


0.40 


0.14 






group. 
Green shale of the salt group, 


5.56 


34.56 


13.36 


43.06 


2.17 






1.06 


* Loss may be set down as potash and the phosphates probably. 



(F-_Page 60.) 



Near Logrosan, in the province of Estreraadura, in Spain, 
there is a vein orbed of native phosphate of lime, (phospho- 
rite, or apatite,) six or seven feet thick and of unknown 
depth. Dr. Daubeny, an English geologist, was sent to ex- 
amine this mine, in 1843, by the Royai Agricultural Society 
of England, to ascertain whether the mineral could not be 
profitably imported as a substitute for bones as a manure. 
The result was, that the expense of freight, inland transpor- 



APPENDIX. 217 

tation, and other charges would be too great to warrant the 
undertaking. 

Dr. Daubeny considers the phosphate of hme in this min- 
eral to be the tribasic phosphate, which contains 45^ per 
cent, of phosphoric acid. He found 81 per cent, of this 
phosphate in the substance, which he estimates to be equiv- 
alent to about 76 per cent, of the bone-earth phosphate. 



/G— Page 93.) 

The occurrence of ram within the tropics is a seasonal 
event, the year being divided into two periods of excessive 
drought and abundant showers, the sky remaining almost 
perfectly cloudless during the former season, and then be- 
coming completely overcast at intervals duiing the latter. 
Districts situated north of the equator have their wet season 
from April to October, when the sun is in the northern half 
of the ecliptic, the reverse occurring on the south of the line. 
In some parts of the American continent and in the West In- 
dies, two wet seasons mark the year ; but one is of much 
shorter duration, and has lighter showers than the other. 

But all countries, however, situated within and near the 
tropics, are not thus favored, as many parts of Africa, Ara- 
bia, and the coast of Peru are almost entirely rainless ; and 
at Cumana, in South America, the annual quantity of rain 
does not amount to more than eight inches. Rainless 
regions seem to occur in two belts, one on each side of the 
equator, which would be consecutive but for the interrup- 
tion of high lands, the nursery of showers. The north belt 
commences in the Old World on the west side of x\frica. It 
includes the Sahara between 16*=* and 28'' of north latitude, 



218 APPENDIX. 

but narrows as it proceeds easterly, extending from 19° to 
21'^ on the banks of the Nile. In Arabia, it embraces the 
low coast, and a part of the interior country, but its limits 
aer not accurately known. From hence, it passes through 
Beloochistan to the base of the Himalaya Mountains, and be- 
yond that range, there is the rainless table land of Thibet. 

The southern belt occurs north of the Gareep or Orange 
River, in South Africa, and includes extensive tracts in Aus- 
tralia. 

In America, rainless districts are found both north and 
south of the equator, but the narrowness of the tropical 
parts of the continent, and the range of mountains that tra- 
verse it longitudinally, prevent the appearance of a shower- 
less zone, as in the northern parts of the Eastern World. 
In both continents, likewise, the districts which have their 
periodical rains are subject to an occasional intermission, and 
become rainless for considerable intervals, the drought inflict- 
ing terrible suflfering upon man and beast. For instance, 
the rainy season on the Upper Nile, is most joyfully antici- 
pated by all ranks of the inhabitants, as may easily be con- 
ceived, if we reflect that, for eight or nine months together, 
the soil is parched for want of even a refreshing shower, and 
that in the interior, it rains about once in four or five years. 
But no sooner does the rain come, than vegetation begins, 
and the whole surface of the land becomes green, the face of 
nature is changed, the earth brings forth her increase, and 
an abundance of everything is furnished to the anxious hus- 
bandman. 

The Nile, in its course through the narrow and winding 
valley of Upper Egypt, which is confined on each side by 
mountainous and sandy deserts, as well as through the plain 
of Lower Egypt, is everywhere bordered, excepting in a 
very few places, by cultivated fields of its own formation. 



APPENDIX. 219 

These cultivated tracts are not perfectly level, being some- 
what lower toward the deserts than in the neighborhood of 
the river. They are interspersed with palm groves and vil- 
lages, and intersected by numerous canals. The copious 
summer rains which prevail in Abyssinia and the neighbor- 
ing countries begin to show their effects in Egypt, by the 
rising of the Nile, about the period of the summer solstice. 
By the autumnal equinox, the river attains its greatest height, 
which is always sufficient to fill the canals by which the 
fields are irrigated, and, generally, to inundate large portions 
of the cultivated land ; it then gradually falls until the period 
when it again begins to rise. Being impregnated, particu- 
larly during its rise, with rich soil washed down from the 
mountainous countries whence it flows, a copious deposit is 
annually spread, either by the natural inundation or by arti- 
ficial irrigation, over the fields which border it ; while its bed, 
from the same cause, rises in an equal degree. The Egyp- 
tians depend entirely upon their river for the fertilisation of 
the soil ; rain being a very rare phenomenon in their country, 
excepting in the neighborhood of the Mediterranean ; and as 
the seasons are perfectly regular, the peasant may make his 
arrangements with the utmost precision respecting the labor 
he will have to perform. Sometimes his labor is light ; but 
when it consists in raising water for irrigation, it is excessive- 
ly severe. 



220 APPENDIX. 

(H— Page 109.) 

The natural soil of the plains of Athens contains the fol- 
lowing ingredients : 

Organic matter, ...... 5.75 

Salts, soluble in water, (common salt, and sulphate 

of soda,) 0.20 

Sulphate of lime, (gypsum,) .... 0.18 

Oxide of iron, 2.91 

Alumina, (soluble in acids,) .... 2.35 

Carbonate of lime, (finely divided limestone,) . 38.08 

Carbonate of magnesia, 0.73 

Phosphate of lime, . . . . . . 0.33 

Insoluble silicious matter, .... 50.33 

100.56 

This soil produces excellent crops of wheat, but is liable, 
when the dry season comes, to be covered with a crust of 
saline matter, which prevents it from growing grass. Hence 
it is concluded that two-fifths of the whole soil may consist 
of carbonate of lime, without its being the cause of unpro- 
ductiveness. 

(I— Page 110.) 

Common salt, it is well known, has been employed from 
time immemorial for the destruction of vegetation, and produc- 
ing complete sterility in a soil. Among Eastern nations, for a 
long period of time, when a conquered city was condemned 
to desolation, it was sown in large quantities among the 
ruins and their vicinity, proclaiming the will of the destroyer, 
and announcing that the country should remain uninhabit- 
ed, without cultivation, and devoted to eternal sterility. 



APPENDIX 



221 



(J— Page 111.) 



Composition of soils of different degrees of 
fertility. 





Fertile, 


Fertile 






without 


with 


Barren. 




Manure. 


Manure. 




Organic matter, 


97 


50 


40 


Silica, (in the sand and clay,) 


648 


833 


778 


Alumina, (in the clay,) 


67 


51 


91 


Lime, 


69 


18 


4 


Magnesia, 


H 


8 


1 


Oxide of iron, 


61 


30 


81 


Oxide of manganese, 


1 


3 


k 


Potash, 


2 


trace. 


trace 


Cht'inei'^'"^fly^^«''™-'^''"^ 


\t 






Sulphuric acid, 


2 


1 




Phosphoric acid, 


4^ 


U 




Carbonic acid, (combined with 








the lime and magnesia,) 


40 


4^ 




Loss, 


14 




H 


1,000 


1,000 


1,000 



The soil, of which the composition is given in the first 
column, had produced crops for 60 years without manure, — - 
and still contained a sensible quantity of all the substances 
required by plants. That in the second column produced 
good crops when regularly manured, — it was in want of 
three or four substances only, which were given to it by the 
manure. The third was hopelessly barren, — it was in want 
of many substances ivhich ordinary manuring could not supply. 
— Johnston's Catechish. 



C. M. SAXTON, FU BLlSilElt. 

121 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK, 

iVouLD respectfully call attention to his Assortment of Works Ajipertaining t« 
Agriculture, Rural and Domestic Economy, a few of which are enumeratedj 
with the retail prices, from which a liberal discount will he made when a num- 
ber of copies are ordersd at one time. Any book can be sent by mail. 



The American Agriculturist, per 

vol., $1.25 

Vllen's, R. L., American Farm 

Book 1.00 

Allen's, L. F., American Herd 

Book 3.00 

Allen's, R. L., Diseases of Do- 
mestic Animals, . . . .75 
Allen's, J. F., Treatise on the 

Grape "Vine 1.00 

Hoare on the Vine, . . , .63 
Spooner on the Cultivation of 
the Grape "^Jine, and Making 

of Wine, 33 

;jowning's Fruits and Fruit 

Trees of America, . ,1.50 
Coles' American Fruit Book, . .50 
Thomas' Fruit Culturist, . . .63 
Do. " " with Appen- 
dix, 1.00 

Ives' New-England Fruit Book, .50 
Bridgman's Fruit Cultivator's 

Manual, 50 

'aqufcs' Iractical Treatise on 
the Management of Fruit 
Trees, . , . • . .50 
Kenrick's American Orchardist, .90 
Lindley's Guide to the Orchard 

and Fruit Garden, . . 1 50 

C. 2vl. Hovey's Fruit Trees of 
America, Colored Plates, 

per vol . 6.50 

Browne's Trees of America, . 4.50 
Loudon's Arboretum Britan- 

nicum, 55.00 

The Complete Gardener and 

Florist, 25 

Bridgman's Florist's Guide, . .50 
)':iy's American Florist, . . .38 
Buist's Flower Garden Direc- 
tory 1.26 

Sayre's American Flower Gar- 
den Companion. . . . .75 
Mrs. Loudon's Companion to the 

Flower Garden, . . . 1.2» 
Buist on the Culture of the 

Rose 75 

Prince's Rose Manual, . .75 

Mrs Gore's Rose i\Ianual. . . 1.60 
Parsons on the Ctilture of the 

Rose, 1.50 

Rose Cuiturist, 38 

i.indley's Theory of Horticul- 
ture, ...3d 

Theodore Thinker's First Les- 
sons in Botany, . .25 
Darlington's Agricultural Bot- 
any, . ... 1.00 
Gray's Botanical Text Book, . 1.60 
Chapins Vegetable Kingdom, 

or Hand Book of Plants, . 1.25 
Beatti«'s Essays on Southern 

Agriculture, . . .1.00 

Woods' Class Book of Botany, , i.50 
Partridge's Theory aci Prac- 
tice of Agricultnre .12)4 



.60 



1.00 



4.01 



10.01 



1.00 



I.M 

.SO' 
.25 
.2S 



Rodgers' Scientific Agriculture, $ .75 
Boussingault's Rural Economy, 1 50 
Boussingault's Organic Kature,. 
Falkner's Treatise on the Na- 
ture and Value of Manures, 
Buel's Farmer's Companion, 
Buel's Farmer's Instructor, 90 

vols., 

Gaylord and Tucker's Ameri- 
can Husbandry, . . . 1.00 
Fessenden's Complete Farmer, .75 
Davis' Text Book of Agricul- 
ture. .50 

Wiggin's American Farmer's 

Instructor 1.50 

Pritt's Farmer's Book and Fa- 
mily Instructor, . . . 2.00 
Johnson's Ameiican Farmei's 

Encyclopaedia, 
Donn's Gardener's Dictionary. 

4 vols, quarto, 
Parnell's Applied Chemistry in 
Arts. Manufactures, and Do- 
mestic Economy, • 
Fresenius and Bullock's Ele- 
mentary Instruction in 
Chemical Analysis, 
Chaptal's Chemistry Applied to 
Agriculture, .... 
Liebig's Agriculture Chemistry, 
Liebig's Animal Chemistry, 
Liebig's Familiar Letters on 
Chemistry, .... 
Topham's Chemistry made Easy 

for the Agriculturist, . 
Johnson's Catechism of Agri- 
cultural Chemistry and 
Geology, .... 
Johnson's Lectures on Agri- 
cultural Chemistry, 
Skinner's Elements of Agricul- 
ture 

Gray's i^lements of Scientific 
and Practical Agriculture, 
Robbin's Comidete Produce 
Reckoner, showing the 
Value, by Pound or Bushel, 
of all the Diflerent Kinds of 

Grail) 7o 

I vV'hitmariOi on the Mulberry 

I Tree 60 

1 Dana's Muck Manual, . . .60 
I Dana's Prize Essay on Manures, .12)^ 
I The Farmer's A.Une, or Source 

I of Wealth, 75 

I Smith's Productive Farming, or 
Familiar Digest of Recent 
Discoveries, ... .60 

I The Farmer's Treasure, . .75 

I Thompson on the Food of Ani- 

Imals, 50 
The Complete Farrier, . . .£6 
Coles' American Veterinarian, . .69 
I Tlie American Farrier. , . ."7^ 
I Ihc Horse, its Hablcs, Diseases, 

and Mauagerneiit, . . .24 



.2i 
.351 



.25 
1.25 



.50 



C. 31. ,Saiion\s Catahgue of Book'*, 



Vouatt on the Horse, . . . f 1.75 
Miles' Horse";: foot, and How to 

Keep it Sound. . . . .'25 

Hinds' Farrier and Stud Book. . 1.00 

Mason's Fnrrier, . . . . 1.25 

Stewart's Stable Economy, . 1.00 
Clater's Every Man His Own 

Farrier .">y 

Stable Talk and Table Talk, . 1 .00 
Yiiuatt'> Stock Raiser's Manual, 2.50 
Clater and Youatt's Cattle Doc- 
tor .hO 

Mills' Sportinan's Library, . . 1.00 

f^kinnigi's Dog and Sportsman. . .75 

Hawkter and Porter on Shootin;:^, 2.75 

P'rank Forristcr's Field Sports, 4.(0 

Youatt on the Dog, . . . l.fiO 

Youatt on the Pig t)o 

Knowison's Cow Doctor, . . .25 
Guenon's Treatise on Milch 

Cows, 3'^ 

Randall's Sheep Husbandry, . l.Olr 

Morrel's American Shepherd, . 1.00 
Canfichl on the Management 

and Breed of Sheep, . .1.00 

Blacklock's Treatise on Sheep, . .00 
Beinent's American Poulterer's 

Companion, . . . .1.00 

Cock's American Poultry Book, .38 

Boswell's Poultry Yard, . . .50 

Miner's Bee Keeper's Manual. . i.OO 
Weeks' Treatise on the Honey 

Bee 50 

Bovan on the Bee .38 

Townley on the Bee, . . . .50 
Marshall's Farmer's and Immi- 
grant's Hand Book, . . 1.00 
Stephen's Book of the Farm, 2 

vols, octavo -l.C;) 

Ellsworth's Improvements in 
Arts. Manufactures, &.C., in 

the United States, . . . .25 
Bigelow's Plants of Boston and 

Vicinity, . . . .1.60 
Gardiner's Farmer's Dictionary, 1.50 
Bement's Journal of Agricul- 
ture 2.60 

Colman's Continental Agricul- 
ture, . . . . . 1.25 
Colman's European Agricul- 
tural Tour fi.OO 

Fessenden's New American 

Gardener 84 

Mahon's American Gardener's 

Calendar, .... 3.50 
Bridgman's Young Gardener's 

Assistant, ... 1.75 
Johnson's Dictionary of Modern 

Gardening, .... 2.25 

Cobbet's American Gardener, . .38 
Bridgman's Kitchen Gardener's 

instructor, 50 

Buist's Family Kitchen Gar- 
dener, 75 

Thaer's Agriculture, . . . 1.75 
Smee on the Potato Plant, . . .72 
Gilpin's Landscape Gardening, . 2.50 
Downing's Landscape Garden- 
ing, 3.60 

Downing's Cottage Residen- 
ces, 2.00 

Lang's Highland Cottages. L.% 

3 47 7 



I Cottage and "Villa Architecture, 

I by Walter and Smith,4 vols.SlO.OO 

EIiiot''s Cottages & Cottage Life, 2.56 

The American Architect, com- 
prising Orifrinal Designs of 
Country Residences, 4to., 
1st series. . . 

2d series, .... 

Peters' Agricultural Account 
Book, 



3.50 
3.50 



l.Ot) 



.50 . 

.33 

50 

lOU 



American Bird Fancier, 

Bees. Pig-eons, Rabbits, and 
Catiiiry Birds, 

The Binl keeper's Manual, 

The Birds of Long Island. . 

Gunn's Domestic Medicine, or 
Poor Man's Friend. This 
Book points out in plain lan- 
guage, fiee from Doctor's 
Terms, the Diseases of Men, 
"Women, and Children, and 
the Latest and most Approv- 
ed Means used in their 
Cure, and is intended ex- 
pressly for the Benefit of 
Famili<'S. It also Contains 
a Description of the Medi- 
cinal Roots and Herbs in 
the L'nited States. By John 
C. Gunn. M. D.. 1 vol. 8vo., 

The Use of Brandy'and Salt, as 
a Remedy for Various Inter- 
nal as well as External Dis- 
eases, Inliammatii'ii, and Lo- 
cal Injuries, containing Am- 
ple Directions for Making 
and Applying it. By Rev. S. 
Fenton 

Miss Beecher's Domestic Eco- 
nomy, 

Recei})t Book, . 

Miss Leslie's Complete Cookery, 

House Book. 

Ladies' Receipt Book, 

Indian-Meal Book, . 

Seventy-Five Receipts. . .30 

Mrs. Rundle's Domestic Cook- 
ery 50 

Mrs. Child's Frugal Housewife, .40 
The Cook's own Book, . .1.00 
The American Housewife and 

Kitchen Directory, . .18^ 
The American System of Cook- 
ery, 75 

Domestic Cookery, . . , .50 
The Practical Receipt Book, . .62 
Miss Acton's New Work on 

Cookery, . . . .1.00 
Mrs. Abeel's Skillful Housewife, .25 
Mrs. Cornelius' Young Plouse- 

keeper's Friend, . 
Alcott's Young llousekeeprr, . 
The Economical Housekeeper, . 
Browne's xVIemoiron Indian Corn, 
Pedder's Farmer's Land Mea- 
surer, showing at one View 
the Contents 'of any Piece 
of Land from Dimensions 
taken in Yards, with a Set of 
Useful Agricultural Tables, 
Webster's Encyclopaedia of Do- 
mestic Economy, 



.1234 

.75 

.75 
1.20 
1.20 
1.20 

.25 



.60 
100 
.75 



.50 



3.60 



